Mama's Bread and Butter Pickles!

This is my mother's recipe for "Bread and Butter Pickles" and to me, it's the best homemade pickle there is.  My sister and I used to eat these for a snack as kids they were so good!  They are sort of a cross between a pickle and relish which is why I probably like them so much.  They are also a really good pickle to start with for those who are new to canning, because they are not that complicated or hard to make.  Homemade pickles are an iffy sort of thing.  Remember the Andy Griffith episode about Aunt Bea's homemade pickles. 

This is not the look you want to see when you present your homemade pickles to folks...lol! 

So here is what you will need for these yummy pickles:

3 quarts of cucumbers, sliced thin (about 4 lbs.)

1/2 cup canning salt

1 cup water

ice

4 cups onions, sliced in thin rings (about 3-4 large onions)

1 large green bell pepper, cut in thin strips

1 large red bell pepper, cut in thin strips

3 cups sugar

3 cups vinegar

2 Tbs. mustard seed

2 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. ground ginger

Place the cucumbers, onions,  bell peppers, salt and water in a large bowl or container with a tight fitting lid.   Cover with ice cubes, place the lid on them and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.

After they have chilled, remove from ice and drain well.    Pack into sterilized pint jars. If you place some of the red and green pepper strips where they are visible, the jars look prettier. You will need about 8-9 jars.   Leave some head room in each jar. 

In a saucepan on the stove, combine vinegar, sugar and spices.  Bring just to a boil, turn off  and remove from heat.   Carefully pour over the cucumber mixture in each jar.  Don't over fill.  Wipe down the jars if you spill any on the outside.

Place the lids and rings on the jars.  Leave the rings slightly loose.

 

Place the jars in a canner or large Dutch oven and add water just up to the rings, not over the rings.   Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover.  Let stand in the hot water bath for about 40 minutes.  Remove and turn upside down on the counter.  This aids in sealing the jars.  

 The lids will pop when they are properly sealed.  if they don't pop and this rarely happens, refrigerate and eat that jar first.  

Don't store it for later use outside of the refrigerator. 

These pickles are so good with most anything and they are also great minced and used in potato salad, chicken salad, tuna salad or anything that calls for pickle relish.  You can just put a whole jar through the food processor and keep it in the fridge for that purpose!