Once again, we’ve had a great growing season here in Ontario, and the market stalls have been heaped with fresh produce all summer long. Teaching our Saturday cooking classes has been easy with so many options for pie making, preserving etc. This recipe from last week’s Pickles class makes a great addition to burgers, sandwiches and potato salad. We used Mini English Cucumbers, which are much smaller in size and diameter than the regular ones. And their crunchy texture and mild flavour makes them perfect for these sweet-sour pickles. If you want to preserve them and put them down for a few months, then be sure to follow our canning instructions below. Otherwise, store them in the fridge for up to one month. PS – what makes them ‘Bread & Butter’ pickles? The sweet brine and use of turmeric and mustard.

BREAD-AND-BUTTER PICKLES
Makes about six x 250 mL jars

4 lbs sliced mini cucumbers
1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pickling salt
2 cups ice cubes (approx)
3 cups white sugar
2-1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

PREPARE THE CANNER:
See below before starting pickles.

PREPARE THE PICKLES:
In large bowl, toss together cucumbers, onions, red pepper, salt and half of the ice cubes. Cover with remaining ice cubes and let stand for 3 hours, changing ice cubes as required. Drain; rinse well and drain again, gently squeezing cucumber mixture in handfuls to remove excess water. Set aside in clean bowl.

In large saucepan, bring sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and cloves to boil; add cucumber mixture and return to boil. Remove from heat and pack into prepared canning jars (see below for processing and long term storage). Let cool and refrigerate if not processing.

PREPARE CANNING KETTLE & JARS:
Wash six 1-cup (250 mL) canning jars. Fill boiling water canner two-thirds full of water. About 30 minutes before filling jars, bring to boil; reduce heat to maintain simmer.

About 10 minutes before filling jars, heat small saucepan of water until hot but not boiling; add lids and let stand to soften sealing compound.

Pack with liquid into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, readjusting headspace if necessary and wiping rims to remove any food residue. Cover with prepared lids; screw on bands fingertip tight. Place jars on rack in canner. If necessary, pour in enough boiling water to cover by at least 1 inch. Return to boil; boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Let water stop boiling before removing jars. With canning tongs, transfer jars to rack; let set for 24 hours. Check that lids curve downward and store in cool dark place. (Refrigerate any that do not.) Refrigerate after opening.

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