Sweet Pickle Spears

 

Sweet Pickle Spears

We are ready for Installment #2 for this new blog! This one is also about cucumbers – but in this case we are canning some.

I started making Sweet Pickle Spears many years ago, using the recipe instructions from the Ball Blue Book for canning. These pickles became a favorite at our house for using in various salads – tuna, egg, potato, etc.

This is the first blog installment that includes canning instructions, so I'll be getting into detail on the procedure for “hot water bath canning”. This method is used for pickles and other items that have a high enough acidity, such as tomatoes. It can also be used for things like jams and jellies. For lower acid foods (green beans, okra, plain beets, carrots, corn, peas, etc.) that are not being pickled, you must use the pressure canning method for food safety. Consult with a current canning guide (such as the Ball Blue Book, or USDA canning book) or with your area Extension Service for current guidelines. Sometimes recommendations change for things such as what should be pressure-canned, or if other ingredients (such as lemon juice) need to be added to jars.

And a bit of warning: we'll be working with some turmeric here. If you've never used it before (raw or powdered), well, it stains a lot! It's a beautiful deep yellow stain, but it will stay a good while. So, wear an apron, watch your surfaces, etc. The pan, bowls, utensils might stay yellow for a while, too.

As always, we'll start in the garden …

If you've read the first blog installment, featuring Cucumbers in Sour Cream (if not, you'd better go back there and see), you know that we grew Arkansas Littleleaf cucumbers in the Grow City Teaching Garden this year. The smaller-than-most-cucumber-varieties-leaves make the cucumbers easier to find on the vines. Our plants produced very well this year!

Try to pick the cucumbers when they are 3”-4” long (as recommended in this recipe) because they are more likely to be crisper and less seedy. There are some varieties of cucumbers, though, that are meant to be grown and used at a larger size, staying crisp, so always check with the description of the variety you are using, especially if it is an unusual one (Poona Keera is one that comes to mind). Also, be sure you are using a variety of cucumber that is meant to stand up to pickling. Some are called “pickling cucumber”, and some (like Arkansas Littleleaf) are multi-purpose. You don't want to use a variety that is just meant for fresh use, such as salads, because they will not hold up well in the pickling process.

Equipment you will need for making and canning Sweet Pickle Spears:

(I list them because I like to get all of my equipment and ingredients ready before starting)

Measuring cups and spoons

Cutting board, knife

Bowl, large saucepot, colander, kettle or other kind of water-boiler

Hot water bath canner that holds pints or half-pints

10 half-pint jars (or you could do 5 pint-size jars) – I always do 1-2 extra jars, in case (if you use pint jars, it's easier to put the pickles into wide-mouth jars rather than regular, narrower mouth jars)

Canning lids and bands (for the number jars you are using – also be sure to match with regular or wide-mouth jars, whichever you are using)

(Note: in this one I'm using regular, single-use lids that are easy to find. Sometimes I use reusable lids, such at Tattler, which also have rubber band liners – I'll be demonstrating those when I do the Dilly Beans installment.)

Canning funnel, ladle, jar-lifter (very helpful canning tool!)

Something for poking into filled jars to remove any air bubbles (I use a very small rubber spatula)

Towel or something for setting hot jars on the countertop, hot pads for your hands

Tongs or another grabber tool for handling things like hot canning lids and bands.

Phone or camera so you can show everyone what you did. :)

Here's the recipe from my Ball Blue Book:

It even has a star on it because I use it so much.

(Note: there are general canning instructions elsewhere in the book.)

And here we go!

I weighed out 4 pounds of cucumbers (as per instructions) from what I harvested. It's great if they are all about the same size, but that doesn't always happen, depending on how many you are growing. I will wash these off in a colander and let them drain a little before I start.

Next, I cut off the ends of each cucumber and them cut the cucumbers into spears. Usually quartering a cucumber lengthwise makes the right size spears, but if you have different sizes of cucumbers you just need to wing it – cut them to the size spears that you like.

Then I boiled water in my kettle and poured it over the cucumber spears in the bowl, to cover. If you are using a bowl like this one, temper it first, pouring a little boiling water at a time at first instead of all at once so you don't risk breaking your family heirloom or favorite bowl. Let these sit in the hot water for 2 hours (I cover mine with a towel to keep out fruit flies and such).

After the 2 hours, let the spears drain.

I love this kind of colander, by the way. It's longer (though it doesn't look that way in this photo) and it has pull out metal handles on each end to make it rest over the top of a sink.

Notice that the cucumber spears have a brighter color now, after being blanched. There is no need to peel the cucumbers for this recipe. They need their full rinds to help them hold up in the process. And after being canned in jars with sugar and spices they will not be bitter.

While you are waiting for those to drain, you can get the canner and jars ready. Here is the method I use:

• Wash all of your jars, them set them in the spaces of the canner's jar-holder (sorry – I don't know the technical name for that). While they are in the canner, fill up all of the jars with water, then let the canner fill up with water until it is a half inch or more above the jars. Set this whole contraption on a large burner, put the canner lid on, and crank up the heat. This is my method for sterilizing the jars, for knowing how much canner water the filled jars will displace (very important – I found this out a very hard way the first time I ever canned), and for having very hot water ready to pour into any other jars you need to sterilize (canners usually hold 7 jars, and you might be making more than that). Let the canner come to a boil and let it boil a little while.

• In the meantime, you need to sterilize the lids and bands. Here's what I do: I put the bands in the bottom of a saucepan, then layer the lids on top. Then I boil water, pour over the lids and bands to cover, then put the cover on the pan and let it sit. When ready, drain them.

• When your jars in the canner are sterilized, use the jar lifter (very important tool) to lift each out of the canner and onto a waiting towel. You might have more jars waiting on the side – they will wait longer.

Now, get your other ingredients ready for the pickling liquid: canning salt (best to use canning or pickling salt, not regular cooking salt), vinegar, sugar, celery seeds, mustard seeds, and ground turmeric.

Combine all of these ingredients into a large saucepot. Heat it all up until it's good and hot (it doesn't have to boil). Stir now and then to get it mixed up.

You can probably smell the next photo ...

Isn't this pretty? It's almost yin-yang.

Next, you'll be putting cucumber spears into your sterilized jars. As you do each jar, pour out the very hot water (using the jar-lifter again). If you have other jars waiting to be sterilized, you can pour the very hot water into those, but only if the water is still boiling hot (if it's not, you'll need to re-boil). Otherwise, you can pour it into something else. I'm a very frugal person, so sometimes I pour it into a sink for dishwashing.

Then fill the jars with the cucumber spears. You can be really pretty about it, arranging them so they look really nice all around the jar, or you can just stick them in, but make sure they are all standing up and the jar is packed. Also make sure the tops of them don't come close to the tops of the jars.

You can see that I'm using wide-mouth pint jars instead of half-pints. We like the spears to be longer than half-pint ones.

Then put the hot pickling liquid into each jar of spears. Use a canning funnel and ladle. Be sure to leave 1/4” of headspace (space between top of ingredients and top of jar) – this is so that it won't disturb the lids and keep them from sealing.

Then check each jar for bubbles and use a tool to release the bubbles. This is where I use a very small rubber spatula, as you see here, but anything narrow and thin will do. I've got it in the middle of the jar here, but what you mainly do is poke it all around the edges, poking at any bubbles you find. This is because the air in the bubbles will displace a certain amount, then will affect the amount of liquid actually covering the pickles in the canning process.

Now you can cover the jars and have them ready for the canner. You might need to use tongs. Set a lid on top of each jar so that it is even and fits well. Then put on the band, making it good and tight.

These have the single-use lids (ignore the white lids in the upper left of the photo – those are reusable ones that are done differently). The bands are, of course, always reusable, but after you open a jar of home-canned goods, you will eventually throw away the lid, as it will be used and bent and will no longer seal.

Now use the jar-lifter again to set the jars into the canner.

I have 5 pints here, as intended. It's not clear in this photo, but when I set the jars in their jar-holder all the way in, the water came well above the jars.

Cover the canner and turn up the heat, if needed. Bring the water to a boil, then time the canner for 10 minutes (if you have other jars waiting with hot water, this is a good time to get them ready with ingredients for the next load).

At the end of the time, remove the canner from the heat and let it set for a little while until the boiling water settles down. Then using the jar-lifter, carefully lift each jar to the waiting towel (of course, at this point you can put other filled and waiting jars into the canner, if you have them).

Allow the jars to cool.

You should hear some click or ping sounds, eventually, as the jars cool. This is the sound that everyone loves – it means those jars have sealed!

After they are all cool, plunk the lid of each jar with your fingernail. If the jar has sealed, it will make a ping-like sound. If it has not, it will sound dull. You can leave those dull ones to sit longer in case they are just reluctant sealers. If a jar never seals, put it in the refrigerator and enjoy them later on.

When all sealed jars are cool, remove the bands for washing, for the next use. Wash off your jars and dry them. And – LABEL!!! You might think you'll remember what they are, but often we do not. It's important to label not just with the name of what you canned but also the date, at least the year, that they were canned. This is so that you'll know later if something has been on your pantry shelf too long to be safe for eating.

Now, put them on the shelf (out of sunlight), step back, sigh and admire, and take a photo to share the beauty and accomplishment with others. :)

I like to leave my freshly canned pickles sealed for weeks before opening any, to allow the flavors to really meld and become one with the cucumbers.

This photo shows the 5 finished pints of wonderful Sweet Pickle Spears that I'll be eventually sharing at Grow City events and using at home.

It also shows some pints of Dilly Beans I made the same day. That's the next installment.

Plan to grow cucumbers in your next garden!! :)