Old-Fashioned Bread and Butter Pickles
A small-batch canning recipe for sweet and tangy bread and butter pickles.
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup canning salt
- 2½ lbs fresh pickling cucumbers
- 1 yellow onion
- 1½ cups white vinegar 5% acidity
- 1¼ cups apple cider vinegar
- 2¾ cups sugar
- 4 tsp mustard seed
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1 tsp allspice berries
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
Instructions
Salt the cucumbers and onions
- Rinse cucumbers under cold running water and drain. Remove the ends of each cucumber, and cut into ¼ inch slices. Cut onion into thin slices. Place cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and mix.
- Sprinkle canning salt over the mixture and cover with a clean tea towel. Scatter ice over the tea towel, and let stand for 2½ hours.
Pre-heat jars
- 30 minutes before the cucumbers are ready, place jars on the rack of your water bath canner. Fill the canner with water, covering the jars by 2 inches. Bring water to 180℉, and simmer jars for at least 10 minutes. Leave jars simmering until ready to fill.
Fill the jars
- After 2½ hours, rinse cucumbers and onions under cold running water to remove salt, and allow to drain.
- Meanwhile, combine the white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and sugar in a stockpot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- While the pickling liquid comes to a boil, remove the jars from the canner and place them on your tea towel.
- Working quickly, add 1 tsp mustard seed, ¼ tsp celery seed, ¼ tsp allspice berries, and ⅛ tsp turmeric powder to each hot jar. Then, pack the cucumbers and onions into the jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Pour or ladle the hot pickling liquid over the packed jar. Leave ½ inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth and center clean, new lids on the jars. Then, screw on the bands to fingertip-tight.
Process the jars
- Place the jars in the simmering water bath canner one at a time using the jar lifter. Water must cover the jars by 1 inch. Cover the canner and adjust the heat to medium-high to bring the water back up to a rolling boil. Allow the jars to process in the boiling water for 10 minutes, adding additional time for your altitude (see table above).
- After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the cover, and let the boil stop.
- Carefully remove the jars from the canner and place on a towel. Let them fully cool undisturbed for 12 hours.
Testing the seals
- After 12 hours, test the seals by pressing the center of each lid to see if it is flat. Double-check your seals by removing the bands from the jars and holding each jar up by the edge of the lid for 5 seconds. If the seal does not hold, store that jar in the refrigerator and eat the pickles within 4 weeks.
- Wipe your jars with a clean, damp cloth to remove any sticky residue from the canning process. Label each jar with the date and store them in a cool, dry, dark place for up to one year.
Notes
Your pickles should reach their full flavor within 4 weeks, but can be kept for up to one year. When you do decide to open a jar of these sweet bread and butter pickles, keep the jar in the fridge and consume the pickles within 6-8 weeks.