People who are new to home canning may want to try making their own pickles from fresh cucumbers. Any variety of this vegetable can be used when canning cucumbers, but Bush pickle and Carolina often taste better than other varieties do. It is a good idea to pick fresh cucumbers in order to ensure that the flesh is soft yet firm and the skin is not overly wrinkled. Any size cucumber can be used, but ones that are around 4- to 6-inches-long (9.16 to 15.24 cm) might be best for creating dill pickle spears.
Before canning cucumbers, this crop should be washed thoroughly and then placed on paper towels to drain. While people are washing their cucumbers, they should carefully inspect these vegetables in order to see if there are any rotten spots on them. If this spot is very small, it can be cut away with a paring knife, but cucumbers with larger spots should be discarded.
It is important to use the right kind of vinegar when canning cucumbers. Some recipes may call for apple cider vinegar, while others require cooks to use white vinegar. In either case, the acidity of the vinegar should be listed as 5%. Most household vinegars are around 4% acidity, and these should not be used because they are not strong enough to make the cucumbers taste sour. People may not need to use vinegar at all if they are making a sweet type such as bread and butter pickles.
Many supermarkets carry spices intended especially for preserving foods. Alum, tumeric, mustard seed, and dill are often used in canning cucumbers and can usually be purchased at a grocery store along with canning jars and metal lids. Salt is also required in most pickle recipes, but regular table salt may make the cucumbers dark and bitter tasting. It is a good idea to choose salt that is labeled as "canning salt" or "pickling salt" instead.
Cucumbers are preserved using an open kettle canning method. This means the jars are placed into a kettle and then boiled for at least 10 minutes in order to kill any bacteria. Many people report hearing the lids pop during this process, and this is completely normal as it indicates the jars are sealing properly. It can still be a good idea to check the jar lids once they have completely cooled so that any that are not completely sealed can be processed again.
