Well I have 25 pounds of Kosher Dills doing their thing in 2 different stone crocks slowly fermenting away. I am fixing to start making cucumber relish some sweet and some spicy. ajsmama thanx for the link,looks like it will be an interesting read. Dave I saw most of those recipes and they weren't what I was looking for. I never even heard of the NCHFP. But than I am new to gardening and even newer to canning so that shouldn't be much of a surprise. I thank you for that link and I have bookmarked it for future use. akRoach I have also bookmarked your link for future use also thank you for it. Carol your link has also been saved so that I can explore it later on. I want to thank all of you for your replies and links, I am slowly learning there is much MUCH more for me to learn and I appreciate any and all help that is passed on to me on that road. As I tell people all the time "I know just enough to be dangerous to myself".

Sodium metabisulfite is a preservative to prevent oxidation. Its available from many wine making supply companies. I used it when I dried potatoes to keep them from turning black. They key here is- "natural flavor', without knowing more, is it a spice, spices, extracts, tec.. Who knows.. As to the sodium benzoate, thats only for canning safety and is also a preservative.

I can't think of any reason why you couldn't substitute zucchini for the cucumbers in Ellie Topp's recipe. Thet are often subbed for each other in pickling recipes and are actually a bit less risky simply because they contain less water to dilute the vinegar than cucumbers do. In addition, this is a straight undiluted vinegar recipe with additional lemon juice which is even more acidic than vinegar. And yes, you can also sub zucchini in the NCHFP B&B pickles recipe since it too is a straight vinegar recipe. Dave

posie4U-- here it is You will need some kind of crock (glass or glazed pottery)-- I bought a couple at Walmart year before last - they are clear glass (2 gallons each) with glass lids, sort of like the glass jars they used to have candy in at old timey general stores. Don't know if they still have them. Anyway this is the recipe. Lay crock on its side and pack cucumbers in as tightly as possible. (This recipe is not exact. I have tweaked it some with regard to quantities though, and it still works out fine.) These are the quantities I used for one - 2 gallon crock. Day 1 - Dissolve 2 cups of salt in 1 gallon of boiling water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 24 hours. Day 2 - Dissolve 1 to 1 1/2 jars of powdered alum (the recipe is old and says a box of alum-- don't think it comes that way anymore - 1 used 1 and 1/2 containers - which were 1.9 ozs. each for the 2 gallon crock of pickles. Day 3 - Drain cukes. Pour fresh boiling water over cucumbers and let stand 24 hours. Day 4 - Drain. Boil together 1 gal. vinegar and about 1 oz. of pickling spice ( put spices in cheescloth or old clean handkerchief and tie up)-- put in pot with vinegar. After you pour the vinegar over the pickles, put the bag of spices in the top of the crock with the cucumbers. let stand for 9 DAYS. After 9 days - Drain cucumbers and slice crosswise. Put a layer of cucumbers and a layer of sugar in large plastic bowls or some type of non-reactive container. Use plenty of sugar so you have enough syrup to cover the cucumbers when you pack them in jars. (I think about 5-7+ lbs. for the 2 gallon crock.) Let the sugar melt and then fill clean jars. (qts. or pints) No need to process. These keep very well for a couple of years in a dark dry place. The amount of pickles you have depends on the size and quantity of cucumbers. But like I said I'm doing a 2 gallon crock and I expect to have probably about 5-7 qts. of pickles. For potato salad, chicken salad, etc. these are the absolute best. Make sure to chill before using. Please excuse the approximate quantities. This is a very old recipe, but I've never had a bad pickle. I will be glad to answer any questions.