Sweet and Spicy Pickles

Step 1

Make sure to clean a large area on your countertop. Grab a large bath towel and fold it the long ways and place it flat on top of the counter. This will cover your filled canning jars to keep the cold air off from them.

Step 2

Place the cucumbers and onions in a nonreactive pan. A nonreactive pan is a stainless steel, enamel, glass, or plastic. I used a large enamel stock pot.

Step 3

Put the pickling salt in the pan and pour water over the cucumbers and onions. You want enough water to cover the cucumbers and onions completely. Mine took 12 cups of water.

Step 4

Let the cucumbers and onions sit for 2 hours.

Step 5

Rinse the cucumbers and onions for about 5 minutes under water to get most of the pickling salt off them.

Step 6

In a separate large sauce pot over medium heat, add in the Hungarian peppers, granulated salt, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, and cloves. Stir occasionally.

Step 7

Make sure the hot water canner is over the heat and ready to sterilize the canning jars.

Step 8

Bring the pickling syrup up to a boil and add the canning jars and lids into the hot water canner.

Step 9

Add the hot pickling syrup in with the cucumbers and onions. Let it come to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir the cucumbers occasionally.

Step 10

Pull out a canning jar and place the funnel in the jar. Using a slotted spoon, add in as many pickles as you can. Leave an 1/2 inch of headspace. Filling the jars with syrup still leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.

Step 11

Clean the rim of the jar with a damp paper towel. Using a lid lifter, pull a hot lid out of the hot water canner and place it on the clean rim. Grab a ring and tighten it down on the lid.

Step 12

Place the jar of pickles between the folding towel. Make sure the top, bottom, and sides are covered.

Step 13

Repeat the filling and covering with the rest of the canning jars.

Step 14

They will seal on their own while sitting under the towel. It could take one hour or 10 hours to pop. If you have one or two to not seal, place them in a hot water bath for 20 minutes and put back under the towel. If you still have issues, you probably didn't have a clean rim and place the unsealed pickles in the fridge and eat them.