I felt like I needed to get this post in before the official start of Fall, which happens to be tomorrow, although it still doesn’t feel like Fall.  It’s hard to believe that I turned on my AC last Monday.  Crazy.  Total Boloney.  At this time of year I’m usually contemplating on how long I can hold out before turning on the heat, and my garden has already been striped of most of it’s summer produce.  Anyways, this dry, prolonged, summer heat has left me with a bumper crop of cucumbers, hence the pickles.

I found a recipe for Honey Bread and Butter Pickles in Canning for a New Generation and decided to give it a try.  I’m reluctant to continue to call these pickles bread and butter pickles since they’re missing one of the key components I generally associate with bread and butter pickles – the sweetness factor.  I actually doubled the amount of honey called for in the recipe.  They were still not what I would consider sweet, and I tend to have a fairly low tolerance for sweet.  The recipe still turned out a wonderful pickle, it’s slightly different from a traditional dill, and has the additional bonus of not containing any cane sugar.  I also didn’t bother with canning these pickles, although, this recipe is perfect for canning if you want to put in the extra work.  I simply decided to save some time and store then in the refrigerator for up to a month, and gift a few jars.

Recipe makes about 4 quarts worth of pickles.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb. Cucumbers
• 2 small Onions
• 1/4 cup pure Koser Salt + 1 tbsp
• 2 tbsp whole Mustard Seeds
• 1 tbsp Celery Seeds
• 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 6 cups Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 tsp ground Turmeric

Directions:

Day 1:

1. Slice the cucumbers into 1/4 inch rounds.
2. Slice the onions into half rounds.
3. Toss them in a container with the 1/4 cup of salt, and store them in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Day 2:

1. Sterilize your jars.
2. In a large pot heat up the remaining ingredients along with 1 1/2 cups of water.
3. Bring the pickling solution to a boil.  180 F (~82 C) if you are planning to pasteurize your pickles.
4. Meanwhile, fill your jars with the cucumber and onion slices.
5. Carefully pour the pickling solution into the jars submerging the cucumbers and onions.  You might need to use a sterilized chop-stick to remove any air pockets.
6. Seal the jars tightly, and either proceed to can them by pasteurizing them at 180 F (~82 C) for 30 minutes, or store them in the refrigerator, once the jars have cooled slightly, for up to a month.