WOW! I am by no means a Pro at pickles, but over the last few years have come up with a recipe I like. In my opinion a "Claussen" type pickle is just a crunchy or crisp garlic pickle. I think Claussen pickles are refrigerated because they are quick pickles and are not fully processed. As processing pickles requires HEAT and heat will cook the pickles. Now the amount of heat used would depend on how cooked they get. I found this out the hard way and 8 qts were super soft and were only saved by turning into relish as needed. I have never tried fermenting pickles and don't think I ever would it sounds like too much trouble. There are a couple ways to keep your pickles crisp - Pickle Crisp also grape leaves. I have never tried either. I keep mine crisp by using fresh "no more then 4 days old and immediately refrigerated after picking> and soaking in an ice water bath for between 2 and 4 hours prior to pickling. As far as the size and type of cucs to use I have found pickling type are best. Although I have used slicing but they do change the final product and are not as good. I like using large ones about 1 1/2 to 2 inch diameter. This recipe is named for my Son. Sometimes a miscalculation can lead to a success. Snakey Jake Pickles Yield about 8 quarts 30 to 40 pickling cucumbers BRINE 12 cups Water 6 cups white vinegar 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp Pickling salt "is also 10 Tbsp> 4 tsp dried minced onion "can use 1/3 cup fresh> 2 Tbsp Processed minced Garlic (store bought jarred) "this is equal to 12 cloves of fresh" 1 Tbsp Mustard seed 2 Tbsp Dill seed 4 tsp sugar Jars 1/4 tsp pepper flakes 3-4 Whole All Spice 5-8 Whole Peppercorns 2-3 Cloves Fresh Garlic rough cut "depends on size 2 Lg or 3 Sm/Med> Brine: Bring liquid to boil, while waiting for boil combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. When boiling add ingredients stir to dissolve salt, return to boil. Keep hot! Jars: Prepare jars for ingredients by sterilizing in boiling water for 10 minutes. Fill sterile jars with dry and fresh ingredients, pack with cut cucumbers. Ladle boiling/hot brine into jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Let cool completely and refrigerate. Or you can process in a boiling water bath for 10 min. When completely cool store on shelf. Notes: Prep cucumbers by slicing into spears or 1/4 inch chips and place into a bowl of ice water for 2 to 4 hours prior to brine or jar preparation. This helps keep them crispy. You can eat these pickles as soon as they are cool, about a couple hours. Although best if you leave them for a couple weeks. IMPORTANT KEEP BOILING WATER BATH BOILING so it is ready for processing. If you put your jars in a cool bath and bring it to boil they will cook. 10 min of a rolling boil so don't start timing til water is boiling. For more info on a BWB refer to ball blue book or the USDA website. Also left over brine can be kept in the fridge for a few days if necessary. Enjoy! Orbdweller

There are a lot of collectors out there and a few museums. Linked below is one of them - wish there was contact info, but I just loved the pictures. Also there are forums for collectibles if you do a Web search. That might help you find someone to talk with. Here is a link that might be useful: Mason's Jar Collection

I googled it and the contents of the crock were used for poultry diseases and is poisonous. I'm sure others will give alot more info than what I found. I'll be following your thread. Christine

The only way you can "know" if your home canned goods are safe to consume is to have them tested for bacteria after they were processed and after they were in storage (when bacteria has a chance to grow into a toxin). As home-canners we don't have that capability, so we need to increase the safety by using tested recipes in the jar sizes suggested, and the tested amount of time for processing, is how we improve the chances the foods remain safe to consume after processing and throughout storage. You decrease the safety each time you alter the recipe with ingredients (which can change the pH), by doubling the recipes, or using the incorrect size jars and/or processing times. There are no foods suggested for canning in gallon jars, and the only ones suggested for 1/2-gallon jars are grape juice and apple juice, according to the manufacturers of the jars. It's impossible, without testing, to know if you got the correct amount of heat penetration for a proper amount of time to kill bacteria in that much food. The commercial one-trip jars, reusing the lids that came with them, are also suspect for safe canning. You can't be sure there was enough sealing compound left on the lids to seal properly not only during processing, but also during storage even if they did seal during processing. The suggested clearance for the water over the jars in a BWB is 1-2 inches. If you have a Ball Blue Book, you can read all of this information in the front of the book. Since there isn't a processing time for 1/2-gallon jars, I would consider your first batch in 1/2-gallon jars suspect for safety. You are playing "canning roulette" and you'll have to decide what's safe and unsafe according to food safety standards for these canned goods. I'd suggest you go to the link below and take the "Preserving Food At Home" Self-Study Canning Coarse at the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I also suggest you call the Family and Consumer Sciences County Extension Agent at your County Cooperative Extension Office for some up-to-date canning information and to discuss your particular questions and how to handle them. I'm so sorry you went to all that work and didn't use safe methods. We all have to live and learn occasionally. All may not be lost and the County Extension Agent may have some suggestions to help salvage your canning day experience. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation