Denise's Easy Bread and Butter Pickles

This year our garden didn't produce very well. Thank goodness for the local farmer's market and the local Amish community. We bought 20 lbs. of cucumbers Saturday and by the end of the day, we had 19 pints and 3 quarts of bread and butter pickles along with 11 pints of Kosher dill stacker and 9 pints of slicked pickles. This recipe is very similar to my Grandma Gaudette's Bread and Butter Pickles (which are just as good as the ones that require no canning) with a twist and directions to make a decent batch. I had to made the vinegar/sugar mixture in two batches.

INGREDIENTS:

10 lbs. cucumbers, sliced thin (we use a mandolin slicer)

9 Vidalia onions, sliced in big pieces

8 green peppers chopped into big pieces

1/2-1 cup salt

4 tsps. celery seed

8 tbsp. mustard seed

12 cups sugar

16 cups white vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash cucumbers thoroughly, do not peel. 
2. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand 3 hours and drain the water off.  Do not rinse. 
3. Mix cucumbers, peppers and onions together and set aside.
4. Bring sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and vinegar to a boil. 
5. Pack cucumbers, peppers and onions in a sterilized jar leaving 1/2" space.
6. Pour hot mixture into jar leaving 1/2" head space.
7. I use the end of a spatula to run near the sides of the jars to release any air.
8. Wipe the top of the jar and seal with boiled lids and rings.
9. Place in a canning pot on a rack and cover with water.
10. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the pot. (I wish I knew this secret years ago!)
11. Once water starts boiling, let pints boil 10 minutes and quarts boil 15 minutes.
12. Using canning tongs, carefully remove the jars to a towel lined counter and let them cool before moving. 
13. Properly sealed jars with start "pinging." If they don't seal properly, put them in the refrigerator and consume.