Bread & Butter Pickles

Like zucchini, there are always a few cucumbers that elude me and grow a little bigger than I’d like. For my slightly-too-large cucumbers, I just slice them up, soak them in salt water overnight with onion, and then turn them into my favorite bread and butter pickles.

I’ve been refining my recipe for bread and butter pickles for more than ten years now, and have a trick up my sleeve for making sure each jar is perfect. All you have to do is place the cloves, allspice berries, and hot pepper flakes in each jar by hand rather than into the big pot when making the syrup. This ensures you have a consistent flavor, and that each jar contains a few spices to help develop its flavor over time. The longer the pickles sit, the better they become.

Don’t get me wrong, I often crack open a fresh, day old jar and eat from it right away, but the flavor that comes from those few extra months of marinating is well worth the wait. Enjoy!

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Bread & Butter Pickles

Yield: 8-10 pints

Author: A Wooden Nest

This is one of my favorite recipes to use for garden pickles that are slightly too big to use for whole dill pickles.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds fresh cucumbers, rinsed and sliced (1/4-inch) with ends removed
• 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 2 large onions, halved and sliced
• 2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup mustard seeds
• 2-3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tsp each: cloves, allspice berries, red pepper flakes (plus more for each individual jar)

Instructions

1. Place the prepared sliced cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and add the salt. Add water until it just covers the cucumbers. Gently stir once or twice and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Remove from refrigerator, drain the salt water, and rinse the cucumbers and onions under cold water in a colander.
3. Prepare a boiling water bath canner, and sterilize your jars and lids.
4. In each jar, place 2 cloves, 2-3 allspice berries and a small pinch of red pepper flakes.
5. In a large stock pot, add your distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, whole cinnamon sticks, turmeric and whole spices. Bring it up to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then add your rinsed cucumbers and onions. Bring back up to a boil, and then turn off the heat immediately.
6. Remove your cinnamon sticks and discard.
7. Using a slotted spoon, pack each jar with your cucumbers and onions up to 1 inch away from the rim. Spoon over the syrup leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
8. Dip the corner of a clean towel in the hot, boiling water from your water bath canner. Use it to wipe the rims of your jars clean. Place the lid on and secure the band until it's finger tight.
9. Place your jars in the boiling water bath canner, making sure the water level is at least an inch above your jars. Process for ten minutes, remove onto a towel-lined counter and let cool to room temperature.
10. Remove bands from each jar, check seals (refrigerate any jars with failed seals), and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Notes

The flavor of the spices in the syrup develops over time and make the pickles taste extra delicious. That's why I make sure to put a couple whole spices (especially the clove and allspice) in each jar by hand rather than directly in the pot while cooking. Also, the red pepper flakes are completely optional, but I like the extra kick.

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Pickled Dilly Beans

These are my favorite pickles, hands down. It’s been that way since I first started gardening back in 2009. The brine is peppery and savory with just the right amount of sweetness, and the beans, if harvested at the right time and pickled fresh, are perfectly crunchy. We often eat a single jar in one sitting.

I like to eat them straight up as a side dish with burgers or steak, or on a salad (I’ve heard they’re particularly good in Nicoise salad). Sometimes I’ll chop them up and add them to tuna or egg salad, or add them to a charcuterie board. They’re also fantastic in a Bloody Mary. Enjoy!

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Dilly Beans

Author: A Wooden Nest

Ingredients

You

• 8-10 sterilized wide-mouth pint or pint-and-a-half, lids, and bands.
• 5 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed to 4 inches long
• 1 small white or red onion, sliced
• Two heads of garlic, cloves peeled and separated
• Whole peppercorns
• Whole mustard seeds
• Dill, dried or fresh
• Pepper flakes or whole dried chiles

Brine

• 5 cups water
• 5 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
• 5 tablespoons non-iodized salt
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

1. Sterilize your jars and lids, and prepare your ingredients.
2. Divide your onion slices and your garlic cloves evenly between your jars, and place at the bottom. To each jar, add 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon dried pepperflakes (or 1-2 whole dried chiles). If you're using dried dill, add about 1/2 teaspoon per jar. If your dill is fresh, add 1-2 heads per jar, depending on your preference.
3. Pack your jars with your beans, fitting them in as tight as you can over the spices, onion, and garlic.
4. Make the brine by combining the water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high to high, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Ladle brine over beans, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Run a thin, non-metallic utensil (like a chopstick) down the inside of the jars to remove air bubbles, and wipe the rims clear with a damp cloth or paper towel. Cover with lids, and secure with bands.
5. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, making sure the water level is over the jars. Remove jars from water and set on a towel-lined tablecloth. Let cool until room temperature. Remove bands, check seals, and store in a cool, dark place for 1-2 months before eating for best results.

Notes

Tips:

• If any of your seals didn't take, you can store those jars in the refrigerator and snack on them periodically to test the progress of the flavor. The'll stay good so long as you've got them refrigerated.
• Using straight beans will help you pack in those beans nice and tight. You can also tilt your jar to the side.
• Make sure your beans are freshly picked. The fresher they are, the tastier and crunchier your dilly beans will be.
• If your beans are long, use wide mouth pint-and-a-half jars rather than pint jars.

Adapted from McCormick

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Candied Hot Peppers

Also known as “Candied Jalapenos” or “Cowboy Candy,” this recipe for Candied Hot Peppers is one of our favorite ways to preserve our pepper harvest. Not only are the peppers spicy and delicious, but the vinegary syrup is full of flavor and fun to use as well. Frankly, we’re addicted to the flavor and love to use it on anything and everything we can think of. If you like spicy things, you’ll want to give this recipe a try.

Our favorite uses so far:

• Tacos and burritos

• Nachos

• Pizza

• Mixed with cream cheese and eaten with crackers

• Cocktails (syrup only)

• Mixed with sour cream to make it spicy (syrup only)

• As a marinade for chicken and onions

We’d love any other ideas you may have for using this recipe. And don’t forget to save your excess syrup! It’s infused with that peppery flavor and great to use on its own. Enjoy!

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Candied Hot Peppers

Author: A Wooden Nest

Also known as "Cowboy Candy," or "Candied Jalapenos," this recipe can utilize other hot pepper varieties as well. And remember to save any of the extra syrup/brine you have leftover. It can be used for all sorts of things, including spicy margaritas, cream cheese dip, or you can even use it to spice up your sour cream for tacos. Endless possibilities.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds fresh hot peppers, washed and sliced
• 3 cups cider vinegar
• 4 cups white granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons non-iodized salt

Instructions

1. Slice your peppers into 1/4-inch rounds or run through a slicer in your food processor.
2. In a large stockpot, add your cider vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Once your syrup has come to a boil, add your hot peppers, seeds and all, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove from heat.
4. Using a funnel, ladle your peppers into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Top with syrup, maintaining the same amount of headspace.
5. Top with sterilized lids and bands.
6. Store in the refrigerator or process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (or longer if you live at high elevation), fully submerged.
7. Remove from boiling water bath and place on a towel-lined counter. Let cool, remove bands and check seals. Store for up to one year in a cool, dark place.

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Crabapple-Pepper Jelly

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

One of the exciting things about moving here in springtime was having the chance to observe the plants and trees growing here at the beginning of the growing season. I wasn’t able to put time or energy into starting a garden that first year we moved in because life was so busy, but I wasn’t lacking for food to harvest. Not only were the majority of our fields covered in blackberries, but there were fruit trees scattered throughout as well, including cherries, elderberries, apples, hawthorn trees, plums, quince, and lots of crabapples.

For me, it was the crabapples that immediately caught my attention. we have a few varieties that grow here, but there’s one particular tree that has the most vibrant, gorgeous red fruit I’ve ever seen, and I was immediately drawn to it. Like I said, we were short on time that first summer here, and truthfully we lacked space. The kitchen wasn’t even fully unpacked, so the idea of digging out my jars and then finding a place for them amongst the chaos didn’t appeal, but this summer when the trees started fruiting again, I was determined to find something quirky to do with them

Enter the the steam juicer, a kitchen tool I’d never used before. I purchased one to try this summer, and found that the juice from the crabapples was just as bright red as the fruit, and it was surprisingly sweet considering the crabapples themselves were so sour and puckery. I was able to get a gallon of juice from just one round in the steam juicer, so I had plenty to work with, and decided I wanted to turn some of it into jelly to maximize on its gorgeous color.

But I didn’t want straight crabapple jelly. I wanted it to have a kick of flavor or spice, and we just so happened to have hot peppers growing in our garden that were ready to harvest, so I sliced some up, tossed them in a big stock pot, seeds and all, and added the crabapple juice. I steeped them together for awhile, gave the juice a taste, and it was perfect.

That evening, I made jelly using the only pectin I had in the house, which was Pomonas Universal Pectin. I loved using Pomona’s for this because the amount of sugar needed is so much less than your typical pectin recipe, but please note that Pomona’s pectin doesn’t just require less sweetener, it actually needs less sweetener for the jelly to set, meaning if you add too much sugar, you’ll have issues with getting your jelly to set at all.

I’ve written my instructions here to reflect Pomona’s instructions for crabapple jelly, but you’ll want to make some modifications to your sugar amounts if you’re using a standard pectin. Enjoy!

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Crabapple-Pepper Jelly

Author: A Wooden Nest

This recipe was developed with Pomona's Universal Pectin in mind, which is a pectin that requires less sugar than most in order to gel up. If you're using a different type of pectin, please consult that brand's info sheet to adjust for the amount of sweetener needed.

Ingredients

• 4 cups unsweetened crabapple juice
• 2 cups sliced hot peppers (like jalapeño)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
• 4 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin
• 4 teaspoons Calcium Water (prepare as instructed on the box)

Instructions

To Prepare the Juice

1. Combine the crabapple juice with the peppers in a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat to low, and continue to stir now and then for the next 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let steep until mixture cools.
2. Strain the peppers out of the juice and pour into a large stockpot to make your jelly.

To Make the Jelly

1. This recipe is specifically for those using Pomona's Universal Pectin. If you are using a different type of pectin, please refer to manufacturer's guidelines for instructions on how to proceed.
2. Place the crabapple juice, lemon/lime juice and calcium water in a large stockpot, and stir well to combine.
3. Pour sugar out into a separate bowl. Add the pectin and whisk into the sugar until evenly combined.
4. Bring mixture in stockpot up to a full rolling boil. Add in the sugar-pectin mixture and stir vigorously for two minutes while mixture comes back up to a boil. Remove from heat.

Storage

1. At this point you can either store your jelly in the refrigerator, or you can water bath can for shelf-stable storage as outlined below:
2. Fill your jars. I like to use half-pint jars, and leave 1/4-inch headspace. After all jars are filled, wipe the rims clean using a clean rag dipped in hot water. Place lids and bands on each jar, and add, fully submerged, to a boiling water bath. Let boil for 10 minutes (or longer if you live in high elevation).
3. Remove jars from water bath canner and place on a towel-lined counter. Let jars cool, remove bands and check seals. Jars should be stored without bands on.

Notes

https://pomonapectin.com/instruction-sheet/

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Apple Butter

This is a recipe I’ve carried with me for years. I make it nearly every summer and give it as gifts for Christmas. It’s rich and good, and can be used on breads like jam, in marinades and sauces, in sandwiches with some fried chicken and cheese… lots of delicious possibilities.

The recipe I follow lies somewhere between what is offered by Simply Recipes and Food in Jars. I liked the recipe from Simply Recipes when I don’t feel like peeling the apples. A food mill is often more suited to my situation, and I like the fact that the peels and cores lend pectin and flavor. The Food in Jars recipe is more specific about the canning procedure, and gives options for a chunkier fruit butter if I ever decide to peel and chop my apples instead of milling them. Sometimes I’ll just puree them with an immersion blender, which is what I’ve done this year.

The main thing to keep in mind is to cook the butter down longer than you think you need to. The more caramelized, the better the flavor. And you’ll want to invest in a splatter screen if you don’t have one already. Trust me on this.

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Stovetop Apple Butter

Author: A Wooden Nest

Ingredients

• 8 lbs apples2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)4 cups waterAround 8 cups sugarFreshly squeezed lemon juice (one large lemon)1 teaspoon salt4 teaspoons freshly roasted and ground cinnamon1 teaspoon freshly roasted and ground allspice1/2 teaspoon freshly roasted and ground cloves1/2 teaspoon freshly roasted and ground cardamom

Instructions

1. Quarter, stem and skin and seed the apples, cutting off any damaged parts (you don't need to skin them if they will later be processed through a food mill). Place in a 5-quart or larger pan with the cider vinegar and the water. Turn heat on high, stirring occasionally. When the liquid begins to boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to stir the apples every five minutes or so until they are soft and mushy.
2. Leave chunky or puree with an immersion blender. (If you left the skins on, run the softened apples through a food mill). Measure the remaining applesauce, and return to your pan. Cook on medium heat until the sauce begins to bubble, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Keep the lid off so that the water can evaporate out.
3. Add 1/2 cup sugar for every cup of apples (8 lbs of apples would generally yield me about 16 cups of sauce after milling, which is why I listed 8 cups of sugar to the recipe list). Add the juice of one large lemon.
4. Dry roast your spices whole in a small saucepan on medium-high until the aroma hits your nose. Shake the pan so that the spices do not burn and continue to roast for another minute or two. Take the spices off the heat and cool. Once cooled, grind your spices in a coffee grinder and add to the pot. Taste and adjust accordingly. If you don't like cardamom or cloves or allspice, simply omit those spices from the recipe.
5. Stir the pot every five minutes or so, making sure to scrape the bottom to prevent burning. Cook for ~3 hours until the sauce has reduced to the desired consistency.
6. If you want to can your jars for long-term storage, read up on the proper canning procedures. Otherwise, funnel your apple butter into sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Read up on the proper procedure for canning your apple butter here: https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html