Usually its not necessary to boil the brine and pour it hot over the cukes, especially if they are going in the fridge right away. Boiling the brine tends to soften the cukes a little. I put the fresh dill at the bottom prioer to packing the jars with trimmed ends cukes. I also like using the Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix as opposed to just pickling salt. It offers a lot more dill flaver compared to the fresh added dill, but I like both for a stronger dill flavor.

Hmmm never seen it is a box like that, only in the plastic jar. The instructions are printed right on the jar in that case. Standard regardless of the recipe it is used in: rounded 1/4 tsp. per quart or rounded 1/8 tsp. per pint. Of course you don't have to use that much if you don't want to. Glad you found what you needed though. Dave

Like the title of the picture says "squares" like 1" mosaic. You could work a center panel of any kind of tile, even hex, but you can't run straight lines with hex, so it would be necessary to switch to squares for that border design. Casey

Monique...so happy you got your little cukes. You can not believe how good Chase's pickles are. I know I've heard it over and over but my first bite was really good....I mean REALLY good! K..here it is and make sure to follow her directions exactly how they are written. Sharon's Dill Pickles Here is more information about Dills than you ever wanted! I have no idea what exactly makes these pickles so good so I am religious about following the steps to the tee! I make these a bushel at a time, each bushel yields about 50 jars. If using less than a bushel you can usually count on between 6-8 dills(cukes) per 1 quart jar, depending on size. Use 3" to 4" cukes that have just been picked. I get mine at the market and always insist on cukes that have been picked that morning or the day before at the earliest. Place the cukes in ice cold water (I use my bath tub!!) and add a bag or two of ice to the water. The cukes should stay in the ice water for a minimum of 2 hours but no more than 8. Refresh the ice as required. I make the brine in great big batches using this ratio: 2 cups white vinegar (I use pickling vinegar) 6 cups water 1/3 cup coarse pickling salt For each jar of dills you will need 2 nice size garlic cloves peeled and cut in half (4 pieces) and two dill florets. Use the dill heads not that fluffy stuff! So if you are doing a bushel....that is 50 jars so you need 100 dill florets and 100 garlic cloves. Leave the cukes whole. Now here is where the canning police and I part ways. This is how I do it and have for 30 years but it is not according to the guidelines . You'll need to make your own choice but I am convinced this is why they are so crisp. I sterilize my jars using the sani cycle of the dishwasher (you could boil the jars instead) When they are really hot, almost at the end of the cycle I place them in a oven at 150 degree to keep them good and hot. Make the brine and bring the brine to a full and rolling boil. Place the rings and lids in a large saucepan with water and bring them almost to the boil. Then turn down but keep them hot. Place the cukes, garlic and dill in the hot jars. I do garlic, dill, cukes, garlic, dill. Pour brine over the cukes. Only do 2 jars at a time, leave the rest in the oven to keep them hot. Wipe the rim really well, this is critical to sealing, and place lid and ring on and screw to finger tight. Let sit 6-8 weeks before eating! Here is what I think is most critical: Fresh cukes Ice bath Boiling hot brine Very hot jars Clean rim So as a recap of ingredients 1) Make the brine in the quantity you need , just keep making it 2) Count on 6-8 medium size cukes to a jar 3) 2 large florets of dill to a jar 4) 2 large size garlic cloves, cut in half, ( 4 pieces) per jar Well that's all I can think of for now! Let me know if you have questions and let me know how they turn out! Good luck !