Blue Ribbon Dill Pickles

WOW! This was a great recipe! I was worried because my pickles were soggy at first-I couldn't wait and wait you should, because by Thanksgiving, my whole pickles were so crunchy, fabulous! My cut up pickles were fine, just not as crunchy as the whole pickles..may need a little more time. I am only giving it 4 stars because of the canning instructions..I ditched them and followed the latest instructions for canning from Ball/USDA..they work and they're safe. I will add more dill as I like them super dilly next time. The exciting thing for me is that, thanks to you, I am so looking forward to next year's batch! Many, Many Thanks!

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The method described in this recipe is called Low Temperature Pasteurization. According to the NCHFP's current guidelines, it results in a better product texture, but must be carefully managed to avoid possible spoilage. According to their directions, place jars in a canner filled half way with warm (120º to 140º F) water. Then, add hot water to a level 1 inch above jars. Heat the water enough to maintain 180º to 185º F water temperature for 30 minutes. Check with a candy or jelly thermometer to be certain that the water temperature is at least 180ºF during the entire 30 minutes. Temperatures higher than 185ºF may cause unnecessary softening of pickles. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/low_temp_pasteur.html

For optimum shelf-stable safety of any fresh-pack dill pickles, the jars should be processed in a boiling water bath covered by at least an inch of water. Ten minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/quick_dill_pickles.html

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I made these this summer and just opened them this weekend. My kids ate 3 jars over the weekend. I used freeze dried dill and the garlic that is in a jar and already chopped up. To make sure they stayed crisp I soaked them in ice and picking salt for a couple of hours before putting them in a jar. They have an awesome crunch.

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While this method may produce crisp pickles it is NOT a safe method of canning. To can properly you have to have at least an inch of water ABOVE the jar lids and the water has to be at a slow boil for processing.

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This was my first time canning, and it was so much fun! I quartered my pickles, used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried dill in each jar, 1 teaspoon of mustard seed in each jar, and a whole garlic glove. One jar did not seal, so that is what we have tasted. Very good! Next time, I would like to use fresh dill, a little less garlic, and maybe add some peppercorns, as another person suggested. Thanks!

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Great recipe! My first time pickling or canning anything, and they came out perfectly! We had to force ourselves to wait at least 2 weeks. Had no idea how to do the canning thing, so I'm glad the directions were pretty good. Made half exactly to recipe, added jalapeno slices, mustard seed, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes to each of the rest of the jars. These are the ones my husband liked the best! Had to go out and get more pickling cukes to make more!

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These pickles are delicious. My family loves these. I add two or three tiny hot red chile peppers to the bottom of the jar, along with the dill & garlic. This does not create a hot pickle, just adds some additional flavor and it looks beautiful!

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IMHO, the USDA is a bureaucratic, paper creating group of self-interested individuals. They must make and revise regulations continuously or look for other work. A thousand Americans died one year from (suspected) %u201Ccontaminated jerky product.%u201D Now we are all instructed to add nitrites when making this at home and it must be cooked. This of course applies to commercial producers adding cost. More people are hit by lightening so don%u2019t play golf. My point is that the method specified in the recipe has served us well for many years. Any possibility of spoilage would be greatly reduced, if not eliminated by the salt and vinegar content.
This is a wonderful process and the tip to refrigerate the cukes in salt water adds that extra crunch. Good job Debber!

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No question about it, this is a Blue Ribbon recipe for sure! We just tasted some from my first batch made two weeks ago. In one day three quarts were downed! I just made batch number 2 - this time using three Ball Wide Mouth half gallon jars (I uploaded a pic of the three jars - there's a lemon cuke in one of them, can't wait to try that, I heard they make great crispy pickles).

Incidentally, just for reference, there was more than enough brine from this recipe to fill three half gallon jars packed with cukes, with enough left over to probably fill another quart.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING DEBBER!

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Excellent recipe. Best dill pickles I ever had. Used first time july 09, will double the amount in 2010. My 9 yr old grandson will help me can the 2010 batch. Thanks for sharing

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These dill pickles are great in and on my famorite sandwiches! I cut the recipe in half to make 3 jars, and used fresh pickling cucumbers.

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Holy wow! Due to some difficulties with my stove, I had to play around with the directions a little bit (I had to use water that was already close to a boil) and my cukes were incredibly fat, so I had to cut them into quarters. So, I was a little concerned with the texture of the pickle. But these were are excellent. In fact, I am in a bit of a quandary: I canned 11 jars, and I want to impress my friends, but I also want to eat them all! 2 Notes: I had to double the brine and I used 36 pickling cukes, cutting off both ends and quartering them. In some jars, I did extra dill and garlic, in all I used mustard seed. I slightly prefer just a little dill and 1 garlic glove. Sour and crunchy!

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These are terrific! I didn't think homemade pickles would be as crisp and flavorful as ones you buy, but these were so much better. I'll never buy pickles again! My whole family loved them and I have requests to make them again this year.

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yumyum yum!!!! i did just a small batch of these to try out my canning skills. Popped a jar just now to use for a potatoe salad and oh my they are goooood! I used a small amount of pickling spice and will now be on my way to do some more canning! enjoy

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These are awesome! Our garden is abundantly supplying cucumbers this year, so I've been looking for pickle recipes. I used store-bought minced garlic, a dash of pickling spice, dried dill weed, and dried dill seed to each jar. Also kept the brine boiling and added to jars as I packed them - the jars sealed better this way. Overall a fabulous recipe! Thanks so much. :o)

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These are the best pickles I have ever made. I first made them in 2008. Didn't know how they would be so only made 11 pints. Well after the family tasted them that winter they decided it was a keeper. Each year I keep making more and we run out. This year I made over 90 quart...hope they last. I have shared with friends and they always ask for the recipe. I do soak the cucumbers in water overnight before canning the next day. Thank you for sharing this recipe

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I concur with the five-star users: I love this recipe and so do my friends. I actually preserve my pickles in the microwave using directions in the book by Isobel Webb called Preserving with a Microwave. And no, the metal jar rings don't seem to bother the microwave at all. So it's quite simple for me to pack seven quart jars with cucumbers and process them in my microwave, three at a time. I've been doing this for several years, as I don't have a lot of space and often want to can a couple jars of tomatoes without a fuss. I also slice my cucumber pickles--generally fairly large--into thirds, which lets me pack the jars fairly full. And I have used both fresh dill and dried dill with dried dill seeds, both with good results.

This recipe works really well to pickle green beans as well as cucumbers. It takes a few months for them to cure, and sometimes I blanch the beans first, if they look a little tough. My green bean picles are a big hit at a party and I am often asked for the recipe. Good Christmas present, too.

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Very easy & delicious!! They're so pretty in the jar, too. This is now our go-to pickle recipe. Thanks so much for posting.

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These are great. I gave a jar to a friend and she asked me for the recipe. Thanks!

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These are excellent! DH is inhaling them. This will now be our dill pickle recipe. We made them about 2 weeks ago and one of the jars didn't seal, so we put that one in the fridge and began to eat them that night and they were delicious. I don't know if I'll be able to keep DH off of them so we'll have some for winter too. I'll definately be making more. Thanks for posting!!!

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