Garlic-dill pickles, salt pickles, mustard pickles

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 6 kg pickled cucumbers
• 2 ½ kg cucumber(s)
• 10 liters of cucumber infusion (ready-made mix) for pickling cucumbers)
• 200 g mustard seeds
• 2 packs of spice mix for pickling cucumbers
• 250 g salt
• 2 bulbs of garlic, approx.
• 800 g onion(s), sliced
• 12 vine leaves
• some bay leaves
• Thyme if needed
• Allspice berries if needed
• Chili pepper(s), dried, if required
• 2 bunches of dill, fresh
• 2 bunches of dill flowers

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

Simply pickle cucumbers yourself in a variety of ways

Sterilize 12 jars, lids, and rubber bands in a pot of boiling water. To do this, place the jars upside down in a pot containing about 5 cm of water and sterilize everything using steam for at least 10 minutes. Heat the stove to about 85 degrees Celsius. Place a rack on a baking sheet, place the sterile jars and lids on it, and place it in the oven (so that the temperature difference is not too great when filling them with almost boiling stock later). If possible, do not touch the inside of the jars or the open, upper rim with hands or gloves. Rinse the pickling cucumbers thoroughly and brush them to remove any residue. Then pierce the cucumbers lengthwise several times with a skewer/toothpick/corn holder. This will give them a much richer flavor after the steeping time. Set the cucumbers aside in a large container. Mustard pickles (3 jars): Peel the cucumbers and halve them lengthwise. Use a teaspoon or tablespoon to remove the seeds and soft insides. Now quarter the cucumbers lengthwise (i.e. halve the halves again lengthwise) and cut into pieces approximately 1.5-2 cm in size. Place the cucumber pieces in a large bowl, large pot, or casserole dish and add approximately 3-4 teaspoons of salt, mix well, and let steep for at least 2 hours. After the steeping time, prepare 3 jars. Add 1 teaspoon of pickle seasoning to each jar of mustard pickles. Using a large spoon, fill the jars with the pickled cucumbers, adding plenty of onions as well. Add 2 halved garlic cloves if desired. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds (depending on how spicy you like it) on top of the cucumbers. Continue under the heading “Pickling” from the second paragraph. Pickled cucumbers / garlic and dill cucumbers (5 jars): Add 1 tablespoon of pickling seasoning to each jar, or more if desired. Add onion rings as desired, but at least 2 whole slices, 6 half cloves of garlic, and a vine leaf to the rim of the jar. Place the cucumbers as tightly as possible in the jars, if possible placing cucumbers crosswise on top. Place dill and dill blossoms, onions, more garlic (if desired), and perhaps a dried chili pepper in the spaces between them, then another 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of pickling spice and/or extra mustard seeds on top. Various variations can be created by adding thyme, allspice, bay leaves, and much more. Salt and Dill Cucumbers (4 jars): ATTENTION! For this, the intended cucumber broth (approx. 1.5 – 2.0 l) must be boiled in a separate pot with approx. 250 g of table salt until the salt is completely dissolved. Add a maximum of 1 teaspoon of pickling spice to each jar, add onions as desired, but at least 2 whole slices, 2 half cloves of garlic, and place a vine leaf to the rim of the jar. Place cucumbers as tightly as possible in the jars, if possible placing cucumbers crosswise on top. Add dill, dill blossoms, and onions in the gaps and on top. Make the cucumber stock: Pour the cucumber stock into a large pot; you can easily boil several batches here. Pour the stock for the pickled cucumbers separately into a medium-sized pot and prepare according to the instructions in the pickled cucumbers section. Bring both to a boil and add bay leaves and allspice berries, if desired (but this is not necessary). Simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then heat until just before boiling, but do not boil. Pour in the cucumber stock: After filling the various jars, make sure there is about 3-5 cm of space left at the top of the jar. Fill the jars almost to the brim with the respective stock (normal stock for all types of cucumbers, except pickled cucumbers, pickle stock for the pickled cucumbers). The stock should still be almost boiling. Then immediately close tightly with the sterile lid and place on a tea towel or the kitchen table. Caution: Very hot! Use a kitchen towel or gloves if possible. Let all jars rest until cooled to room temperature. Store the jars in a dark, cool place, such as the cellar or utility room. The mustard pickles are ready to enjoy after 2-4 weeks. The other pickle varieties should rest for at least 4, but preferably 6-8 weeks. After this time, the pickles are extremely tasty and edible and will keep for about a year.