Lime Pickles

Sideshow
Grandma’s Lime Pickles
Jeffery Richard Carter
My mother used to tell stories that at age 3, I was wanting
these pickles. She had to hide them in a coffee cup on the
table and sneak one when I wasn’t looking. I grew up eating
these pickles, thanks to G-ma Blocher’s summer canning. Aunt
Esther made them too.
At my rst college Christmas in 1979, G-ma gave me 12 quarts
of these pickles – one for each month. And for a decade, that
was my Christmas present from her.
Then one year around 1990 I didn’t get any pickles, and I
realized that G-ma was slowing down and not making them
any more. That summer, I called her and got the recipe, then
failed at my rst batch. She gave me a few pointers, and I’ve
made pickles nearly every year since then.
I give jars of these pickles as presents at holidays and at
house-warmings. I eat them myself. I share them with guests at
my table.
And the world is well.
Yields: 5 quarts
Ingredients
2 cups Pickling Lime
2 gallons Water
7-9 lbs Cucumbers
3 lbs Ice
2 quarts White Vinegar
7 cups Granulated Sugar
3 tbsp Mixed Pickling Spices (I use Penzey’s
premium, but any will do ne.)
1 tbsp Salt
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2 tbsp Green Food Coloring
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Instructions
• Prepare in a large enamel stockpot (or granite or crockery container, but not in metal!) a solution
of 2 cups pickling lime and 2 gallons of water.
• Wash 7, or 8, or 9 pounds of small cucumbers (no larger in diameter than a newborn baby’s
ankle), then slice the cucumbers into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices.
• Place all slices in the lime water, and soak (covered) for 24 hours.
• With a strainer over the drain, pour the entire solution and cucumbers into a sink. Rinse the
cucumbers three times in clear water to remove all traces of the lime solution. Put the
cucumbers back in the clean stock pot or crock for a moment and clean the sink.
• Stop the sink as if you are doing dishes. Pour 3 lbs or more of ice into the sink, throw in the
cucumbers on the ice, and cover with cold water. Let soak in ice water for three hours.
• In a large stock pot (or a turkey roasting pan like I use, as it’s the perfect size!) make a brine of
the white vinegar, granulated sugar, pickling spices, salt and food coloring.
• After three hours of soaking, let the water out of the sink, then place the drained cucumber
slices in the brine. Cover. Soak overnight for about 8 hours. (I just leave them on the cold
stovetop.)
• I put the pan over two burners on high at 6.30 a.m. the next morning. By about 6.45 the brine is
at a boil. I turn down the heat to keep on a low boil. Keep covered, and boil for 35 minutes,
stirring occasionally.
• Using a large measuring cup, place cooked pickles directly from boiling brine into sterilized, hot
glass jars. Pack tightly by pressing down with wooden spoon. Keep packing. Fill to the top, then
ladle brine over pickles to about 1/4-inch clearance. Wipe the rim, then place canning lid and
ring on tightly. With this much sugar and vinegar, the pickles do not need a hot-water bath, but
a ten-minute boil in a bath won’t hurt them either.
• Let cool completely. These pickles are best when aged for at least three months before eating,
and are best when refrigerated. Pickles will keep for a year in the jars.

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