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Sweet Cucumber Pickles

My mom had several pickle recipes, but this one is my favorite!
Prep Time1 day 4 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Resting12 hours
Total Time1 day 17 hours 25 minutes
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sweet cucumber pickle recipe, sweet cucumber pickles
Servings: 40 servings
Calories: 237kcal
Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

  • 7 lbs cucumbers
  • 2 cups pickling lime
  • Numerous buckets of water
  • 1/2 gallon 5% white distilled vinegar most vinegar is 5%
  • 5 pounds sugar - see note
  • 3 Tablespoons pickling spice

Instructions

  • Use small or long pickling cucumbers. Burpless work too. Just don't use large cucumbers with many seeds. Wash the cucumbers. Slice crosswise into 1/8"-1/4" slices.
  • Mix 2 cups of lime with several cups of water in a large ceramic, enamel or stainless steel vessel. Stir to blend.
  • Add the cut cucumbers and enough water to cover them. Gently stir the mixture. Be very careful -- they will break so easily.
  • Soak for 24 hours.
  • I remember my mother making these pickles. Sometimes she had a plate on top to hold down the cucumbers. As you pass by, gently stir under the cukes, just to loosen the settled lime. Note: you can soak them for 48 hours and they are still wonderful.
  • After soaking for 24 hours, rinse the cucumbers in clear water. Then change the water every hour on the hour, 4 times.
  • Tie pickling spices in a double thickness of cheesecloth. Put 1/2 gallon distilled vinegar, 5 pounds sugar and the pickling spices into a large stainless steel or enamel cooking pot. Stir to melt the sugar. Add the cucumbers and bring to a boil. Let stand overnight.
  • Next day bring the cucumbers and vinegar to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Pack pickles and vinegar mixture into sterilized jars according to canning instructions.

Notes

Yield 9-10 pints
These days sugar often comes in a bag that is 4 pounds instead of 5. If you are measuring, 5 pounds is about 11 1/4 cups of sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.2mg