#605 - 14 Day Pickles

(by Aunt Ada [Herman] Miller)

1 - 2 gallon pickle crock
1 peck of small pickles (about the thickness of your ring finger)
1 gallon water
1 heaping cup canning salt
10 large horseradish leaves
1 1/2 TBSP alum
3 lbs. white sugar
1 pint cider vinegar
2 TBSP celery seed
2 TBSP canning salt
1/4 cup whole allspice (placed in cheesecloth and tied on the top with string)
3 1/2 whole cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces, placed in cheesecloth and tied at the top)


Wash the pickles and place them in the crock. Pour the gallon of water in in a bucket and add the cup of canning salt--stir until mixed. Pour saltwater over the pickles--enough so that all pickles are covered. Place a pie plate in the crock on top of the pickles. Use a quart jar filled with water and set it on top of the pie plate to prevent the pie plate from floating up to the top. Take a cloth and cover the top of the crock so nothing gets into the pickles.

After 3 days, check them--if there is any scum on the top add 1/4 cup more canning salt and restir before placing pie plate, jar and cloth back on the crock. If there is no scum, don't add anything.

On the 8th day, scrape off any scum and throw it away. Remove all of the pickles and place them in a separate container--set aside. Throw the salt water away and rinse the crock. Tear the horseradish leaves into pieces that will fit into the crock. Cover the bottom of the crock with washed horsehradish leaves. Add a 3" layer of pickles next. Add another layer of horseradish leaves. Add another 3" layer of pickles. Continue layering until all pickles are in the crock and the top layer is horseradish leaves. Pour a gallon of boiling water in the crock slowly (enough so everything is covered). Place pie plate, jar of water and cloth back on.

On the 9th day, remove all of the pickles and throw away the water and the horseradish leaves. Rinse the crock. Put pickles back in the crock. Make another gallon of boiling water but add
1 1/2 TBSP alum and stir before boiling the water. Pour the boiling alum water back on the pickles. Place the pie plate, jar of water and cloth back on the crock.

On both the 10th and 11th days, remove the alum water from the crock, reboil it, and pour it back on the pickles. Place the pie plate, jar of water and cloth back on the crock. This must be done on BOTH the 10th and the 11th days.

On the 12th day, remove the pickles from the crock and throw the alum water away. Poke each pickle three times around with a fork--if you skip this step the pickles will shrivel. Put poked pickles back in the crock. To make the pickle juice, use a 4-6qt. pot. Add 3lbs. white sugar, 1 pint cider vinegar, 2 TBSP celery seed, 2 TBSP canning salt, 1/4 cup whole allspice (placed in cheesecloth and tied on the top with string), 3 1/2 whole cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces, placed in cheesecloth and tied at the top), and enough water to make 1 gallon of liquid (about 3 1/2 qts. water added to all of the ingredients). Place pot of the stove, stir all ingredients and float the allspice bag and the cinnamon bag on top. Turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Remove the allspice bag and the cinnamon bag from the juice and place them on top of the pickles in the crock. Pour the boiling pickle juice on top of the pickles. Place the pie plate, jar of water and cloth back on the crock.

On the 13th day, remove pickles from the crock and set aside. Pour the juice from the crock back into the pot and reboil with the allspice bag and cinnamon bag floating on top. Put the pickles back in the crock. When the juice comes to a boil, remove the allspice bag and the cinnamon bag and place them back on top of the pickles in the crock. Pour the boiling pickle juice over the pickles in the crock. Put pie plate, jar of water and cloth back on top of the crock.

On the 14th day, remove the pickles and place them in a large pot on the stove. Pour the pickle juice on top of the pickles and float the allspice bag and cinnamon bag on top. Turn heat on high and cook until hot (NOT boiling). Once pickles are hot turn heat back to medium. Wash your canning jars, place them right side up on the bottom rack of your oven, set oven to 200 degrees. Place the center part of your canning lids (not the rings) in a saucepan on the stove with water--heat until boiling, then turn heat back to low. Take 1 jar out as a time and pack them with pickles (as many as you can squeeze in). Use a soup ladle and cover the pickles in the jar with hot juice. Use a tableknife and shove it down the sides of the jar 4 times around to get the bubbles out. Use a dishrag to wipe any juice off of the top of the jar. Use a fork to get a canning lid from the boiling water--place it on top of the pickle jar. Place the canning ring on top--tighten lid as tight as you can. Repeat until all pickles are gone. Set finished jars on a heat proof surface. The lids will pop after a few hours. If there are any jars that have lids that have centers that didn't go down (and are still raised), use them first. Pickles will keep for about 2 years.

#580 - Red Beets

(by Aunt Mae [Herman] Cook)

fresh red beets (as many as you want to use)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 heaping cup white sugar
2 cups of the cooked beet water (explained below)
1 TBSP salt

Wash red beets, then twist the top and bottom roots off using your hands. Scrub each red beet with a vegetable brush so they are really clean. Place cleaned beets in a large cooking pot and cover completely with water. Turn stove heat on high--when it comes to a boil turn heat back to medium (if you use a lid, make sure it's tilted so juice doesn't cook out). After you turn heat back to medium, cook the beats for 1 hour--to test for doneness use a meat fork. They should be tender like a cooked potato when they're ready. Turn heat off, use tongs to take each beet out of the pot and transfer all of them into another large granite or stainless steel pot (NOT the juice--do not use a teflon pot). Let beets cool, then remove the top layer of skin from each beet (they come off very easily). Slice each beet into coin shaped pieces (or you can halve and quarter them). Return sliced beets to the pot you used to cool them. In a large bowl, add 2 cups of the red beet water that's still on the stove, white sugar, salt, and vinegar--stir. Pour this juice mixture over the red beets. You will remake this same juice mixture over and over until all of the beets are completely covered. Let the beets stand in the juice overnight with a lid. Let the extra beet water sit also in case you need to make more beet juice when canning. The next day put the pot containing the beets/juice on the stove and turn heat on medium until it gets very hot (but not boiling). Put center part of canning lids in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn heat for the lids down to low. Wash pint or quart sized canning jars, then place them in the oven and set oven to 200 degrees. When jars are hot and beets are hot, fill each jar (using tongs to hold the jars) with red beets and juice. Use a table knife and poke it all the way to the bottom of the jar when you think it's full with beets and juice--this will get rid of the air bubbles. Use a damp dishcloth to wipe the top edge of the jar--use a fork to pull out one canning lid and place it on top of the jar. Put the metal ring on top and make it as tight as you can. Sit the filled jars on a heatproof surface. Let them sit until they seal (you will hear them pop and the center of the lid will pop--takes about an hour until you start hearing the pops). Let them cool to room temperature. You can store the ones you're going to eat right away in the refrigerator. Store the rest in cupboards--they will last up to 2 years. If you get a jar that doesn't pop, use that one first because it won't keep.