Quick Refrigerator Pickles

Crikey! Salty girl found these pickles to be WAY too salty. Aren't they pretty, though? The reward for trying to follow a recipe is never certain.  Sometimes there are stand-outs, and sometimes,  sit-downs.  With about half the amount of salt, these will be divine next time.  The spice combination that I threw together worked really well, I'll be keeping that.  I'll post the amended recipe, rather than waste your time with something I know will taste like it should have been eaten on the Mayflower. 

I didn't can these... not bold enough yet.  But I'm working up my nerve. I want to be ready to make cases and cases of spaghetti sauce when the tomatoes all come in.  Then, I'll be halfway to fulfilling my lifelong dream of becoming Strega Nona.  Wah ha ha....

The recipe below was based on Mary's Spicy Garlic Pickles, from the Liz Crain Collection. 

Quick Refrigerator Pickles 

Ingredients:

10 1-qt. mason jars

1 qt. distilled white vinegar

3 qts water

1/2- 3/4 c non-iodized salt*

3TB spices per jar (I used the following combination for my 8 jars: 3TB caraway seeds, 8 TB coriander, 5 TB peppercorn mix, 1 TB all black peppercorn, 3 TB cloves, 2 TB fennel, 1 TB red pepper flakes, 1 TB allspice berries) other possibilities are juniper berries, mustard seeds, etc.

Bunch of dill 

Vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, etc. for pickling (one medium-large cucumber per jar; 6-10 small pickling cucumbers per jar; 2-3 lemon cucumbers per jar; 1-2 c cherry tomatoes per jar; the possibilities are endless.) Slice all vegetables to desired size and shape: discs, spears, wedges, etc. Leave cherry tomatoes whole. 

Preparation: 

In a nonreactive pot, bring vinegar, water, and salt to a gentle boil.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Put 3TB of spice mix in each mason jar, along with some dill. Pack vegetables into each jar, until jar is about 3/4 full.  Pour hot vinegar mixture into each jar, up to about 1/2 inch from the top.  Wait until the jars are cool, then put lids on jars.  Refrigerate jars.  Pickles will be ready in about 3-4 days. Makes 10 quarts. 

* The major change I would make from the recipe I worked off of was a reduction in salt. The cup of salt the original recipe called for was excessive: I suspect 3/4 c would be sufficient.