The Time I Was "In A Pickle"

When my four girls were very young, my hubby Jim and I would acquire a babe Sitter about once a calendar month and travel to our favourite restaurant. At that time, our very favourite was Head Charley's restaurant. Not only were the main courses good, but the salad barroom was so complete and delicious, that it is by far the best salad barroom I have got ever had the privilege of sampling.

That is precisely how my narrative starts: It began at the salad barroom of our favourite restaurant, Head Charley's. That evening, I heaped my plate with all the usual dainties 1 acquires at a salad bar. One peculiar thing stood out among the other delightful salads and cheeses and that was the watermelon vine pickles. Yep, that was the star of the whole show. Prior to this, I had never eaten watermelon vine pickles. These pickles became my passion. I don't believe I really paid too much attending to the residual of the repast because the watermelon vine pickles lured me back to the salad bar, clip after time. The sweet-tart watermelon taste sensation sensation satisfied my taste buds. The pickles were absolutely and divinely bracing and delicious!

After one of these eves at Head Charley's with Jim, I began to believe about making watermelon vine pickles. I looked through a formula book handed down to me from my mother. I am guessing it was printed about 60 old age ago. I looked in the tabular array of table of contents of the red-checked Better Homes and Gardens and there it was, a formula for watermelon vine pickles. My oral cavity began to H2O as I wrote down the ingredients. Watermelons are plentiful in Sunshine State from springtime until about December, so that was a plus.

I didn't cognize if my pickles would savor like Head Charley's, but I simply had to seek and do this antic delicacy. I made my watermelon vine pickles. I was in paradise. After a couple of trial runs, I decided to go forth out the cloves. (For my taste, I liked it better and it tasted more than like the 1s in the restaurant.)

I was actually thrilled with the results. Here is the formula from Better Homes and Gardens, about 60 old age ago:
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Watermelon Pickles

2 lbs watermelon vine rind

4 cups sugar

2 cups achromatic vinegar

2 cups water

1 lemon, thinly sliced

2 tablespoonfuls cinnamon bark bark

1 tablespoonful whole cloves (optional)

Trim darkness greenness and pinkish parts of rind; cut skin in 1-inch cubes. Soak nightlong in salt water, ½ cup coarse –medium salt to 1 quart water; drain, rinse and cover with cold water. Cook just tender; drain.

Combine sugar, vinegar, water, lemon and spices tied in a bag. Simmer 10 minutes.

Remove spice bag; add watermelon vine rind. Simmer until clear. Fill hot, sterilized jars to ½ inch from top. Seal. Makes 3 pints. ________________________________________________________

I kept making watermelon vine vine pickles and giving them away for gifts but mostly indulging to my heart's content when Iodine craved watermelon pickles. (No, I was not pregnant at that time, just needed my pickles.)

That is just the first portion of my true story. I decided I could be the pickle queen. My sister lives in an country in Sunshine State where cucumber vines are plentiful. She brought me the perfect size for Anethum graveolens pickles. My bosom leaped with exhilaration as I began to do my first batch of Anethum graveolens pickles.

By this time, my kitchen cabinets were getting pretty full and I didn't have got a larder but I continued on my "pickle journey."

A friend of mine gave me her formula for strip pickles but I can't look to happen that one.

As my "pickling" became a weekly occurrence, I experimented with mustard pickles and butter and breadstuff pickles. They were all good, sharp and delicious, although watermelon vine stays my favorite. They are a taste sensation of the south, for sure.

I'm certain my four girls and Jim will not bury that summer, either. Since I didn't have got a larder at that time, most of the kitchen cabinets contained pickles and more than pickles. Including the strip pickles that I don't have got got the formula for, I made five different sorts of pickles.

I can still see the look on Jim's human face as he opened the kitchen cabinet that was filled with watermelon vine pickles, Anethum graveolens pickles, strip pickles, mustard pickles and breadstuff and butter pickles.

Now that I have a pantry, I believe it is clip to revolve up my arms and set up some more than pickles…

Dill Pickles

Scrub medium cucumber vines with brushwood and battalion into hot, sterilized jars.

To each quart add: 2 caputs of dill, 1 piece ammonia alum the size of a little grape and 1 teaspoon mustard seed. Fill jars with hot brine: 1 cup cyder vinegar; 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoonful course-medium salt. Seal.

Crisp Pickle Slices (Butter and Bread Type

4 quarts sliced medium cucumbers

6 medium White onions, sliced

2 greenness peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/8 cup coarse-medium salt

5 cups sugar

1 ½ teaspoons turmeric

1 ½ teaspoon cultivated celery seed

2 tablespoonfuls mustard seed

3 cups cyder vinegar

Do not pare down cucumbers; piece thin. Add onions, common peppers and whole Allium sativum cloves. Add salt; cover with cracked ice; Mix thoroughly. Let base 3 hours; drainage thoroughly.

Combine remaining ingredients; pour over cucumber vine mixture. Heat just to a boil. Sealing Wax in hot, sterilized jars. Makes 8 pints.

Old Time Mustard Pickles

3 lbs little cucumbers

½ cup prepared mustard

4 cups achromatic vinegar

½ cup salt

3 ½ cups sugar

If little cucumber vines aren't available, cut cucumber vines in 1 ½ inch pieces. Compound remaining ingredients. Heat to a boil.

Add pickles and reheat to a boil; pour into hot, sterilized jars, filling to 1 inch from top. Vinegar solution should cover pickles. Sealing Wax each jar immediately. Makes 7 pints.