This is my grandma Belle’s recipe for sweet pickles. It’s a labor of love as it is a 13-day recipe, but it isn’t hard to do. Most of your time will be spent waiting, and what you do each day doesn’t take very long. I have a 2-gallon crock that I use for this recipe, and when it’s full of cucumbers, that amount will last me roughly 2 years. I use these pickles in potato salad, tuna and chicken salad, and in homemade tartar sauce, plus they are terrific straight out of the jar. The number of pints you get will obviously depend on the size of the cucumbers you have, put I usually get about 11-14 pints per 2-gallon crock of cucumbers. The syrup amount listed will fill that many pints – if you tightly pack your jars with the pickle chunks. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to make a little extra syrup just in case so there is enough to cover the pickles in each jar.
If you don’t have 2 weeks to devote to making pickles, you can speed up this recipe. Once you get to Day 9 where you first prepare the syrup, you can heat up the syrup twice in one day to cut down your time. I’ve done this many times, and the pickles don’t taste any different than if you did it each day. The point is to get the syrup hot, pour over the cucumbers, and then let it cool completely before you heat them up again.
Crystal Pickles
Pickling cucumbers, washed (leave whole with stems on)
Water
Canning salt
Alum or Pickle Crisp
9 cups sugar
2-1/2 cups white vinegar
Box of cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Wash pickles with stems on. Place in a stone crock, and soak with a mixture of 1 cups of canning salt per 1 gallon of water. Use enough to cover cucumbers completely. Weight down cucumbers so they are beneath the water mixture, and cover crock with a towel to prevent anything from getting in the crock.
Let cucumbers set for 1 week, but check daily to make sure none of the cucumbers are above the water level. Spoon off any scum, if any, from top of the water.
On Day 7, drain and wash the cucumbers. They will be lighter in color. Rinse out the crock.
Place the cucumbers back in the crock. Cover them with boiling water. Again weight down the cucumbers, cover crock with a towel, and let them set 24 hours.
On Day 8, drain cucumbers, and cut into 1-inch chunks.
Place chunks back in the crock, and cover cucumber chunks with boiling water that has 1 tablespoon of either alum or Pickle Crisp per gallon of water. Weight down cucumber chunks; cover crock with a towel, and let set 24 hours.
On Day 9, drain cucumber chunks. In a large stockpot, make a syrup of the white vinegar and sugar. Heat over low to medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Use the cheesecloth to make a spice bag, and add the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the spice bag. Add spice bag to the syrup mixture, and heat through. Remove spice bag and reserve. Pour hot syrup over cucumber chunks in crock. Weight down cucumbers so everything is beneath the syrup. Cover with a towel, and let set 24 hours.
On Day 10, drain the cucumber chunks over a large stockpot, reserving the syrup. Place cucumber chunks back in the crock. Add spice bag to the syrup, and heat until hot. Remove spice bag and reserve. Pour hot syrup over cucumber chunks in crock. Weight down, again making sure chunks are below the syrup. Cover with a towel, and let set 24 hours.
Days 11 and 12: Repeat same process from Day 10.
On Day 13, again drain syrup from the crock into a large stockpot. Add spice bag, and heat until hot. Tightly pack cucumber chunks into prepared pint jars. Add hot syrup to each jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe rims, and add lids and rings, adjusting until just finger tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (not a rolling boil – that will shrivel the pickles – just barely boiling). After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Let stand 5 minutes before removing jars to a towel on the counter. Let jars sit for 12 hours before testing for seal. Remove rings, wipe down jars, and store in a cool dark place.
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20 Comments
Hi, I was just wondering if this is a recipe that is tested? I am new to canning and I keep hearing that you need to follow the new guidelines and I am trying to find recipes that fall within these guidelines. I don’t
ever remember my Grandma having any issues and her pickles were amazing. I have seen comments in different places and some of them are very mean spirited wo other people who ask questions, etc. Thank you in advance for your response.
Hi Keri. Thanks for your question. This is not a tested recipe, but you are wise to seek out those recipes that are tested. You won’t go wrong with using a tested recipe, especially if you are just starting out canning. I posted this recipe more for my own use so I don’t lose my family’s recipe. Most of the canning recipes I post are tested, but this one is not. Good luck in your canning adventure!
Crazy question. How does the syrup taste by itself? Store-bought sweet pickles just don’t have the tangy taste or thicker consistency of the candied Aunt Jane’s Candied Sweet Pickles I used to buy (mostly to use the syrup in potato salad and deviled eggs).
I’m wondering if I just made the syrup with the vinegar, sugar and spices if it would have a similar taste without all the work of making pickles.
I think making the syrup by itself (and stored in the fridge) would be fine. I use the syrup in my potato salads too, but it does also taste a bit like the pickle, so you’d lose that flavor if you only made the syrup.
I have a question. Once this process is complete, do the pickles need to be stored for a certain amount of time before eating? Or are they ready to enjoy?
Thank you!
Karen
Because they’ve been sitting in the syrup for almost 2 weeks, they’re ready to eat right away. One or two always seem to be eaten as I process them 🙂
Thanks so much!
Hi, I’m new to making pickles. When you cut the cucumbers Will theybe softer than that placed in the brine?
Or is this a sign that your pickles will be mushy?
All pickles will be softer after processing, no matter what recipe you use. Maybe it’s because I’ve eaten home-canned pickles since I was little, but I don’t find them to be mushy. I do find that adding Pickle Crisp to each jar can help them be firmer.
I’ve been told adding a grape leaf will assure crispness. Apparently the tanins in the grape leaf are the reason (according to me dear friend). I’m very new to this, but last time I made pickles I got grape leaves from a restaurant that had grapevines in their front yard (with permission). One leaf per jar. It worked. Have any of you tried this?
I’ve used grape leaves in dill pickles. Even planted grapes just to have the leaves! A horseradish leaf also works if you have them.
Yes, that was a dill pickle recipe! The recipe also called for fresh garlic and a hot pepper. They were amazing.
I lost a recipe for brined sweet pickles that used sweet spices like cinnamon and cloves. They were amazing and could kick myself for misplacing the recipe.
Your recipe is the only one I can find on the internet that sounds close to what I had. I know I cut up the cucumbers before they were brined and the spices were also included in the jars before processing. Unfortunately your recipe is very vague with quantities. How many cinnamon sticks come in a box? I’m in Canada, our cinnamon sticks come in a bag or you buy them by the pound at a bulk food store. Also, the one tbsp of cloves and box of cinnamon sticks are appropriate for how many pounds of cucumbers?
My apologies for the vagueness of the recipe. That’s one of the problems with family recipes. You just follow what your mother/grandmother did and don’t always measure things the way you should. I don’t remember exactly how many cinnamon sticks are in a box, but I usually use 5-6 sticks when I make the syrup. The amount of spices is appropriate for a lot of cucumbers. I wish I had weighed the cucumbers when I made these, and I definitely will next summer when I make these again. I use a 2-gallon crock that is filled to the top (leaving room to weight them down), and when it’s full, I pour the syrup over. I would guess 15-20 pounds, but I honestly don’t know how many pounds of cucumbers for sure. When I do measure them, I will edit the recipe so you and others will have a better idea.
Hi, Christine. I asked a question a little while ago regarding your recipe for your grandma’s Crystal Sweet Pickles and have come to making the syrup. I want to clarify that the instructions call for 9 cups of sugar to be dissolved into only 2 and a half cups of vinegar. Is this correct?
My mom used to make Crystal pickles, and I have too since her passing. I have her big crock she used, but it is just too heavy when loaded with the water and pickles for me to pick up any more. Plus the last time I made these pickles I found a hairline crack and the syrup starting to seep out. So I won’t be using it.
My question is, can I use a porcelain pot to do the whole process in from start to finish?
I don’t see why you couldn’t use porcelain. The only type of pot I’d avoid would be aluminum because it would react to the vinegar.
I have always used a big Home Depot pail. My dinnerplates are a perfect size to weight down the cucumbers.
A few questions:
When you “heat it through” should it come to a boil?
The syrup came out an almost honey consistency, is that what it is supposed to be?
When you say you can speed up the process on day 9, does that mean you’re finished and can jar on day 9? If so, do you heat it up a third time to jar or, or do you jar it on the second time it’s heated?
Thank you!
I heat it to almost boiling. If it boils, then it starts to thicken. The syrup should have a water consistency, not thick like honey. When I speed up the process, I heat the syrup 2 times a day (heat the second time after it’s completely cooled from the first time) and jar everything after the final time I’ve warmed up the syrup.