Quick Sweet Pickles
8 pounds of 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers
1/3 cup canning or pickling salt
Crushed or cubed ice
4 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 tablespoon whole allspice
2 tablespoons mustard seed
Yield: 7 to 9 pints
Procedure: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16 inch off blossom end and discard. Cut cucumbers into slices or strips. Place in large bowl and sprinkle with 1/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice and mustard seed in 6-quart saucepot. Heat to boiling. Drain cucumbers and pack without heating into clean jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Fill jars to 1/2 inch from top with hot pickling liquid. Remove any air bubbles with a plastic spatula. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Add two slices of raw onion to each jar before filling, if desired. Process in a boiling water bath: pints for 15 minutes at 6,000 feet or below, 20 minutes above 6,000 feet; quarts for 20 minutes at 6,000 feet or below, 25 minutes above 6,000 feet. After processing and cooling, store jars four to five weeks to allow flavor to develop.
