And here is the Fermented Dills I mentioned. Optional refrigerator storage or processing. Also really good! Deanna Fermented Dill Pickles  Refrigerated "Clausen" Type 1 Gallon Jar Pickling Cucumbers 12 Fresh Dill Flower heads, or 2 Tbsp Dried dill weed and 2 Tbsp. Dried dill seed 10 to 12 Cloves Garlic 6 to 8 Peppercorns 1/4 Cup Vinegar 1/2 Cup Salt 1 1/2 Quarts Water In 1 gallon jar add pickling cucumbers Rinse but do not wash the cucumbers. Add Dill flower heads or dried dill weed and seed, garlic, peppercorns, and vinegar. Dissolve salt in water and add to jar. Fill jar the remaining way with water. Add weight to keep cucumbers under brine. Fermentation sequence 1\. Clear brine  no cloudiness for 1 to 3 days 2\. Cloudy brine with gas formation, 2\-3 days 3\. Cloudy brine  no gas formation, 5 to 6 days Pickles ready to eat after 10\-11 days. Refrigerate pickles if you do not want to process them. To process the pickles: Fill clean, sterilized quart jars with pickles to within 1/2inch of the top. Wipe, seal, and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Remove and place on towel in a draft free area. Let jars stand for 12 hours. Label and date. Store in a dark, cool area.

I wish I had seen this thread earlier. I asked a similar question here at GW my first year gardening and (I think it was Linda Lou, but can't remember for certain now) that suggested that I keep my cucumbers in an ice-water bath in the fridge for up to a week. (My personal record is 2 week hee hee). Since cucumbers are about 80% water no matter how you store them they will shrivel up if you don't store them IN water. BEGIN AT THE SINK. I start by placing my cake cooling rack across the sink as a "wire-shelf" because not only will you have spillage, in this case you actually WANT spillage. Using a large Tupperware (or similar) container with a tight fitting (sealable) lid, place your cucumbers in the bowl and cover with ice. Fill just to overflowing with water. When you put the lid on, instead of "burping" air you will want to "burp" a little water out to ensure there is no air at all and store in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Add ice daily (or as needed, I have had ice last a couple of days) until your ready to pickle. This is now standard storage practice for pickling cukes in my house every year until I have enough ready to can. :) Best Wishes Amino-X

I like the mixes as they also contain the necessary spices, but add more spices as I like them to be a bit stronger flavored. Because I can't have much sugar, I also use Splenda as it doesn't need as much to sweeten compared to sugar. For dills, I add fresh dill weed and seeds as well as fresh garlic, and still use a mix. Bread and butters get mustard seed and celery seeds, as well as the Splenda, at only about half a cup per batch. I also prefer a stronger acid flavor, so I use mostly all vinegar. For this, I reduce the heat processing time, as they are more acidic than were intended for, and are much safer to can using less exposure to heat. I don't refrigerate after the initial BWB, as they need no refrigeration afterwards. They would only need the refrigeration if no heat process was used in the beginning. When making the brines, I bring them to a boil and pour over the cold packed jars contents, then cap, and BWB. For refrigerator types, no heat of any kind is needed, and the brine is poured into the jars at room temps and then they are placed in the fridge.

You are absolutely correct. I don't process my dills. I make sure the jars are as hot as can be by using the dishwasher on the sani cycle and then placing them in a 150-200 degree oven while I can them. This assures a very crisp pickle. However , many people are uncomfortable with this so I tell them to process as you would any pickle in a vinegar brine solution. When I posted the recipe on AllRecipes it went viral with great reviews. Somewhere along the way AllRecipes modified the recipe to add a hot water bath...from that point on there were many complaints that the pickles were not crisp. I don't advocate that anyone use the original recipe but this is about my 40th year plus making them this way. For anyone interested here is the "Cadillac" version of the recipe that I( posted several years after the one Ann posted. Mrs. Jack's Dills 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 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 degrees 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