Quick Pickles

Ingredients

4 pounds pickling cucumbers (4 inch)
14 garlic cloves, split
1/4 C pickling salt
2 and 3/4 C Vinegar (5%)
3 cups water
14 heads fresh dill
28 peppercorns

Instructions

Yield 6 to 7 pints Wash cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. Heat garlic, salt, vinegar and water to boiling. Remove garlic and place 4 halves into each pint or quart jar. Pack cucmbers into jar, adding 2 heads dill and 4 peppercorsn. Pour hot vinegar colution over the cucmbers to within 1/2 inch of the top. Adjust lids and use conventional boiling-water canner processing pints for 10 minutes and quarts for 15 minutes at sea level. (15 and 20 at 1001-6000 ft, 20 and 25 at above 6000 ft.) The seasoning can be fooled with, but don't even think about adjusting the vinegar water ratio. I use the grape leaf trick for crispiness and wouldn't even try to make pickles without it: the tannins in the leaf reduce the impact of pickle softening enzymes.