Pickle Party

I attempted homemade pickles.  It was my very first attempt and I learned a few things.  Here's what I did...

First I got out my water bath canner and got the supplies ready.

Then I sliced up the cucumbers into spears and slices.  I just used an all in one pickle seasoning package and I followed the directions straight off the packet.  I stuffed the quart sized jars with the pickles and filled them with the heated pickle brine.

Then did the same for the slices.

Then I forgot to get the air bubbles out.  I did wipe down the rims.  Placed the lids on and processed them according to the package directions.  Here they are post water bath, cooling on the counter.

The package said to let them sit for 24 hours and then enjoy.  We waited 3-4 days.  My pickle expert sampled one!

The verdict:

Very dill pickley!

Here's the problems I discovered:

1)  Don't buy the biggest cucumbers.  The flesh will be very soft.  I like a crisp pickle.  Next time I will be a bit more cucumber savvy.  I'll have to learn what a good 'pickling' cucumber is...

2)  Maybe try some pickling crisp.  I saw it at Walmart, but didn't get it.  Perhaps next time I'll try it out.

3)  I think I will try a homemade recipe.  The package was convenient, but I missed the recipe part of this.

4)  Don't forget to do the air bubble thing, duh!

5)  Be a better pickle packer.  My pickles floated to the top once the brine was poured in because they weren't packed tight enough.

and 6)  Use a pint sized container.  The quart size is just a bit too tall for the spears.