The Gravy Makers - Part One (Pickle Recipe)

My grandmother was the first one.
She was a short, weighty woman who wore grape colored lipstick
In contrast to her fire red, Toni-permed hair.
When her horned rimmed glasses perched just so
She looked like Ethel Merman with a ‘God Bless America’ smile.

She bought me a pair of blue socks every Christmas
And hailed the introduction of bonded double knit.
She was never short of home canned sweet pickles,
New York vanilla ice cream – or gossip.

She was the one
Who taught me what women do with fat and flour,
Stirring, stirring sweat, meat drippings and potato water
Into life.

Homemade Pickles

Cucumbers – Garden fresh work best. You can usually find them at farmers markets. I bought two large bags of cucumbers, washed them, then sliced them lengthwise. You can slice them into ‘coins’ if you prefer smaller pickles.

Water

Pickling Salt – Yes, there really is a product called pickling salt. Don’t use table salt as it contains iodine. Iodine has a tendency to darken pickles. Kosher salt is a suitable alternative as it contains no iodine. But if you can, use pickling salt. It can be hard to find, but definitely worth the effort.

Alum – Used to strengthen cucumber pectins. It’s what gives pickles their ‘crunch’.
Pickling Spices – My grandmother had several spice combinations scratched across her recipes. I imagine it was quite common to experiment with the recipe, after all, the pickling spices are what give the pickles their flavor. Pickling spices can also be bought, commercially. Find them in the spice section.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Sugar

DAY 1
Wash the rinds of the cucumbers thoroughly. Slice in coins or lengthwise. Place slices in large container. I used a large, glass jar with glass lid. Fill the container with boiling water, completely covering the cucumbers. When cooled, cover. Let rest overnight.

DAY 2
Drain, discard liquid. Boil a second batch of water – enough to cover the cucumbers. To this water, add pickling salt : 1 ½ C pickling salt to 1 Gal. water. Pour salted, boiling water over cucumbers covering them completely. When cooled, cover. Let rest overnight.

DAY 3
Drain, discard liquid. Boil a third batch of water – enough to cover the cucumbers. To this water, add alum: 2 ½ T. to 1 Gal. water. Pour over cucumbers covering them completely. When cooled, cover. Let rest overnight.

DAY 4
Drain, discard liquid. Boil apple cider vinegar, enough to cover. To the cider, add pickling spices: 3 T. to 1 Gal. apple cider vinegar. I’m sure my grandmother just sprinkled the spices in the vinegar before she poured it over the cucumbers because I can remember picking spice flakes off her pickles.
I chose to tie them into a cheese cloth bag that I tucked into the pickles. You can also steep a bundle in the boiling cider, discarding the bag before pouring the cider over the cucumbers. All three methods will work.

DAYS 5-7
Let cucumber/cider mixture rest for three days – covered or uncovered. I suggest using a cover. The cider scent gets pretty strong by the third day.

DAY 8
Drain, discard liquid and spices. Fill large bowl with sugar. One by one, dredge each cucumber in sugar, covering thoroughly. Pack tightly into jars, sprinkling additional sugar in the jar, after every few pickles. The result will be about one more cup of sugar in addition to the sugar coating the cucumbers. Seal jars and let the magic begin. As the sugar dissolves, it pulls moisture from the cucumbers that combines to make a syrup. It takes a few hours, but after all the sugar has ‘melted’ there should be enough syrup to cover the cucumbers. If not, add more sugar.
Cure in a cool, dry place for several days or weeks. Chill before serving.