Canning Dill Pickles – Grandma Ella’s Recipe – Insightful Nana (2024)

FAQs

Can you use dried dill in canning pickles? ›

Cucumbers: Pickling cucumbers are preferred, but regular cucumbers can be used also. Dill: In place of the dill seeds, you can substitute 5 heads of fresh dill (the yellow flower portion) or 2 teaspoons dried dillweed for each jar (10 teaspoons total).

Using dill seeds: Toast the seeds until fragrant in a dry sauté pan over medium heat, about 1 minute; you will want 1 teaspoon of dill seeds for each quart. Using fresh dill florets: Snip dill florets from plants leaving the stems just long enough to fit into each jar. You'll need 2 or 3 florets per quart jar.

Fill with the brine, ensuring one inch of headspace. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from hot water bath and allow to cool overnight to ensure a good seal. Pickles are good for one year with a good seal, stored in a cool, dry place.

Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.

Did you know that grape leaves help keep dill pickles crunchy? We usually pick grape leaves off of local vines that grow wild in our area. Grapes leaves are important for making pickles because they release tannins which keep the pickles crisp.

Pickles are soft or slippery.

This can happen when the blossom ends of the cucumbers are not removed. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom ends of cucumbers. The blossom end contains an enzyme that may cause softening. This can also happen if the brine or vinegar was too weak.

County Fair Kosher 325-375 Dill Pickle Spears, 5 Gallon.

Kosher pickles are made according to Jewish dietary laws, while regular pickles may be made using any ingredients and processing methods. Kosher pickles are typically made with a salt brine and flavored with garlic and dill, while regular pickles may be pickled with vinegar and flavored with sugar and other spices.

According to the USDA, alum may still safely be used to firm fermented cucumbers, but it does not improve the firmness of quick-process pickles. If you use good-quality ingredients and follow current canning methods, alum is not needed. If you do use alum, do not use more than 1/4 teaspoon per quart of pickling liquid.

In a water bath canner, your jars must be completely submerged in simmering water, which can be anywhere from 3-4 gallons. When using a pressure canner, you only need about 3-4 inches of water (there is usually an indicator line on the inside of the canner), which is about 1½ gallons.

How to make pickles crunchy when canning? ›

Add a Source of Tannin

Tannins work against softening enzymes and help keep pickles crunchier. They can be found in various sources, such as grape leaves, oak leaves, raspberry leaves, black tea, etc. Add some directly to your jars!

Most fruit preserves and pickles are sufficiently high in acid to be canned via a method called water bath canning, where jars are submerged in boiling water for a prescribed amount of time. This destroys any pathogens in the food, and creates a seal, thereby rendering the jars shelf-stable.

Much of my garden dill is used for making pickles, and while there is no hard-and-fast rule on the best stage of growth for harvesting dill for pickles, I prefer the green seed stage. This occurs about two weeks after the yellow flower umbels appear, typically about 70 days after planting.

Seeds, whole leaves removed from the stem or crushed leaves should be stored in airtight glass jars (preferably in brown glass) and kept in a cool, dry cupboard out of the light. Inspect jarred herbs after the first week.