Icicle Pickles

Ingredients

Cut 6-quart basket of dill cucumbers into pieces (bite-size).
Place 2 cups of pickling salt (less if using smaller cucumbers)
into enough boiling water to cover a 6 quart basket of cucumbers.
Dissolve salt. Let stand for 4 days, stirring daily.

Instructions

Day 5: Drain and cover with boiling water. Day 6: Drain and cover with boiling water, add a chunk of alum the size of a walnut or a rounded tablespoon of powdered alum. Day 7: Drain. Boil together 6-8 cups sugar, 2 1/2 quarts vinegar, 1/2 cup pickling spice, green food colouring (optional). Add to the cucumbers. Day 8: Drain and reserve syrup. Add 1 cup of sugar to the syrup. Boil and pour over the cucumbers. Day 9: Drain and reserve syrup. Add 1 cup of sugar to the syrup. Boil and pour over the cucumbers. Day 10: Add 1 cup of sugar, boil and bottle pickles.