Bread-and-Butter Pickles
- 6 pounds unwaxed Kirby cucumbers
- 8 white pearl onions (not cocktail onions), peeled
- 1/2 cup pickling salt (6 ounces, by weight; kosher salt may be substituted, but do not use ordinary table salt)
- 4 cups ice cubes
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 3 cups white vinegar
- Wash the cucumbers.
- Slice paper thin.
- Slice the onions paper thin, and mix with the cucumbers and salt in a very large container, at least 10 quarts.
- Add enough water to the 4 cups of ice to make 2 gallons of ice water.
- Mix the ice water with the cucmbers, onions and salt.
- Set aside for at least 3 hours.
- Then, drain thoroughly.
- Sterilize 8 one-pint canning jars with new lids by boiling jars and lids for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, but leave jars in the hot water.
- In a 6-to-8-quart saucepan, mix the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Add cucumbers and onions, and cook until the mixture reaches 190 degrees on a candy thermometer.
- Pack the mixture into hot sterilized canning jars.
- Wipe rims, and seal.
- Place the jars in boiling water to cover, and cook 15 minutes after the water returns to a boil.
- Cool and store.
unwaxed kirby cucumbers, white pearl onions, pickling salt, granulated sugar, ground turmeric, ground cloves, mustard seeds, celery, white vinegar
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/5857 (may not work)