Bread-and-Butter Pickles: 6 lbs of 4- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers 8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 3 pounds) l/2 cup canning or pickling salt 4 cups vinegar (5 percent) 4-l/2 cups sugar 2 tbsp mustard seed l-l/2 tbsp celery seed l tbsp ground tumeric

Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blossom end and discard. Cut into 3/l6-inch slices. Combine cucumbers and onions in a large bowl. Add salt. Cover with 2 inches crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, adding more ice as needed. Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot. Boil l0 minutes. Drain and add cucumbers and onions and slowly reheat to boiling. Fill jars with slices and cooking syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pints or quarts l0 minutes in a boiling water canner. After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor. Quick Sweet Pickles 8 lbs of 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers (may be canned as strips or slices) l/3 cup canning or pickling salt 4-l/2 cups sugar 3-l/2 cups vinegar (5 percent) 2 tsp celery seed l tbsp whole allspice 2 tbsp mustard seed Yield: About 7 to 9 pints Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave l/4 inch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strips, if desired. Place in bowl and sprinkle with l/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-quart kettle. Heat to boiling. Hot Pack: Add cucumbers and heat slowly until vinegar solution returns to boil. Stir occasionally to make sure mixture heats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process 5 minutes in a boiling water canner. Raw Pack: Fill jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Add hot pickling syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pints l0 minutes and quarts l5 minutes in boiling water canner or use low temperature pasteurization treatment. After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor.