My first attempt at Pickling

I wanted to try a super basic pickling recipe my first time and we really only had one huge cucumber ready.  Our pickling cucumbers didn’t do great this year, but we decided to try pickling an 18 inch Nippon Sanjaku Kiuri Cucumber.  I made refrigerator pickles and just used a pack of Ball Dill Pickling mix (found with canning supplies).  The small pack makes 2 quarts, or 4 pints.  I figured our one cucumber would only fill 2 pints, so I grabbed some beets and okra and a couple beans for the other half.  The recipe was super simple.  I boiled the beets for 10 minutes or so until they were tender and washed and sliced the veggies.

Then I just followed the instructions on the pickling mix, which entailed bringing water, vinegar and the pickling mix to a boil.  Then pour that mixture over your sliced veggies in a bowl.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Then I sterilized the jars and lids by placing them in simmering water.  Then stuff the jars with veggies and liquid, store in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks.  And then they should last for about 3 months.  I will update when we actually get to try them.  Can’t wait!