How to Make and Can Bread and Butter Pickles

For those who have never canned the thought of canning can be quite overwhelming. Many new canners talk themselves out of even giving it a try but the truth is that canning is not nearly as difficult as it seems to the beginner. One of my favorite items to make during the summer and can is Bread and Butter pickles.

There are two ways to make them, you can use the refrigerator method or you can choose to hot pack (process where pickles are cooked and then canned in jars while hot) them. I prefer the hot pack method myself, and the simple reason is that I like instant gratification, I hate waiting for anything to process and the refrigerator method requires waiting anywhere from a matter of hours to a matter of days or weeks before you can can them.

One of the first steps to great pickles is getting your pickles when they are just the right size, if you wait until they get too big you will have soft pickles that lack crispness and the pickles will be oversized. You want to make sure that you pick cucumbers that are specifically grown for pickling, and that are no bigger in size than one and a half inches around.

Next you will want to gather everything you need to prepare your pickles. Canning is all about timing, and you don't want to go running around looking for what you need. You will need two large towels to place hot jars on, a large mouth funnel, tongs, jars and lids. Make sure you use jars made specifically for canning, other jars make crack under the heat of canning. Some canners prefer to use a set of tongs specifically made for lifting canning jars but I do not use this. The jar lifter is approximately $8 to $10 in cost,

As far as what type of canner to use a water bath canner is the best canner to use when preparing cucumbers. A water bath canner is easiest for beginners, and is best for foods that have a high acidity such as cucumbers. Water bath canners are inexpensive you can purchase one at Wal-Mart with a jar rack in it for under $20.

Before using your jars you will want to sterilize them, most jars come with specific instructions on how to sterilize them.