Thursday, August 4, 2011

I've Gone Pickle Mad!

This past long weekend I turned 2 bushes of cucumbers into 81 jars of pickles. Needless to say I don't want to see another cucumber for a while... I made a few different kinds for the whole family which I will show below. This year I opted for an outdoor propane burner, 60,000 BTU of raw power :-) It boils the canner in minutes and does not heat up the house.

6 jars of Old Fashion Bread & Butter Pickles, recipe follows
in the post below.

15 jars of Baby Dill Pickles. I tried out some 2L jars for this batch.
They fill much faster and their larger size speeds up the
processing. I think I will use more of them next time.

Now for the big job, 50 1L jars of Halved Dill Pickles.

Charlie helped out too by filling boxes.
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24 comments:

  1. RobinAugust 4, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    I think you will be well stocked in pickles for quite some time! We have one of those outdoor propane single burners. I don't know why I haven't been using it for the canner!! Duh

    It looks like Charlie was a big help :)

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  2. Daniel ChapmanAugust 4, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    Robin - the outdoor burners are great for canning! I just do the hot water bath outdoors though as it is the main thing that heats up the house. I sterilize the jars in a 220f oven and the brine/packing is done indoors. They don't heat up the house much and then you don't have to contend with ants and what not.

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  3. UnknownAugust 4, 2011 at 1:37 PM

    Wow Dan! That is a LOT of pickles. I am sure your family and friends will like them.

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  4. Mrs.PicklesAugust 4, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    That is a lot of pickles!Love the idea of the propane burner. Going to have to give that a try this month.

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  5. Daphne GouldAugust 4, 2011 at 2:12 PM

    What in the world will you do with so many pickles? Though I suppose it is just about 1 1/2 jars of pickles a week. If you have a family that really loves pickles you could do that.

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  6. KathAugust 4, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    I'm similarly well-endowed with jams! Can't waste all this lovely produce.

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  7. Sue GarrettAugust 4, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    We'll be soon making piccalilli. This is also done outdoors to avoid the house being filled with fumes from boiling vinegar!

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  8. glendaAugust 4, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    Charlie is simply too handsome for words!!!!

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  9. kelliAugust 4, 2011 at 7:25 PM

    hey dan! those look great. i've made three jars of dill pickles this season so far.=)

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  10. Annie*s GrannyAugust 4, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    Will you marry me? It's not that I like pickles that much, it's more that I want a man who "can can like Dan"! Besides, I want to be Charlie's mom.

    What? I'm too old for you? Well darn!

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  11. UnknownAugust 5, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    wow! that's awesome! maybe you could sell some of those pickles..:)

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  12. MatronAugust 5, 2011 at 2:09 AM

    What a great post! I love preserving and making pickles and relishes. With the addition of the Charlie photo, well that is just perfect!

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  13. kitsapFGAugust 5, 2011 at 9:23 AM

    Holy Smokes you are rolling in pickles! My cukes are just starting to produce and I am going to have to wait a few weeks to do some dill pickle relish (first priority as I opened the last jar of it last week) and then some regular pickles. I will be making some refrigerator dills again this year too. Not planning to put up as many pickles as you did though as 7 jars of relish lasts us almost exactly a year and approximately six jars of dill pickles similarly does us for the year. The rest of the cukes will get eaten fresh in salads and as refrigerator dills.

    LOVE that picture of Charlie - she is such a pretty girl!

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  14. GraceAugust 5, 2011 at 10:27 AM

    Wowza! And I thought I was a mad canner! I am impressed and humbled by your pickle production and I want to be just like you when I grow up. Except that I'm a girl, and I'm already grown up. Oh, never mind.

    Thanks for the inspiration. You are the third blogger I've seen using an outdoor burner and I think that is the smartest idea ever. I have a bunch of pears I've been putting off canning because I can't stand to heat my house up that much in this crazy weather.

    Charlie is gorgeous and such a good helper!

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  15. meemsnycAugust 5, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    Oh wow, that is incredibly awesome. Does your family eat all of those in one year? Wow!

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  16. David P. Offutt - The Gastronomic GardenerAugust 6, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Floated in from Granny's blog. Wow I though I had a lot of pickles! How many plants do you have? And I agree the outdoor burner is great, I've been doing just what you are, keeps the house cool.. Keep up the good work!

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  17. Stephanie from GardenTherapy.caAugust 6, 2011 at 10:10 PM

    awesome! I want to make baby dills this year but will have to procure my cukes. love the shot of the outdoor boiling water bath - very cool.

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  18. RosemaryAugust 7, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    Dan smart idea doing the pickles outside, come winter the pickles will make all the hard work worth it. Charley is adorable.

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  19. WendyAugust 7, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    You're right! You've gone mad! I hate pickles but a good relish on a good, grilled hot dog will do. Haven't had one of those in more than fifteen years, but after looking at your photos, I may be due.

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  20. KatieAugust 7, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    Those bread and butters look delicious! I might have to try that myself. And maybe MY cat Charlie will help me out, too! =)

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  21. MarciaAugust 9, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Incredible! Are you in the pickle business?

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  22. ThomasAugust 11, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    Holy heck, that's a lot of pickles!

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  23. John GreenSeptember 30, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Baby Dills are the best pickles ever...

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  24. Dunwoody FlowersOctober 18, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    Thanks for the pictures and your post! I'm looking forward to starting my first garden at the first of next year!

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