When we bought the seeds, I hadn't realized that "Cool Breeze" is considered a burpless, seedless variety. I selected it because it was described as having fruits that set early, a French cornichon type (gherkin) that was pickling size, also great in salads, and best when picked 4-5" long. Since I knew I was going to want to make Linda's recipe again, I thought Linda Lou's recipe or a variation of it might do well with this cuke if I wanted to try to make gherkins or maybe small whole sweet pickles. (I have since come across the NCHFP recipes, which I may use to make 1-2" and/or 3-4" gherkins by picking earlier.) It wasn't until I was posting yesterday that I went back to read the catalog description and learned of its burpless & seedless nature...(apparently they mean when you pick them smaller than 4-5"). I became concerned, because I remember having read one of your postings, Ken, where you mentioned that burpless don't make good pickles. I just hope this batch is an exception. They seemed crunchy enough before processing. No hollow centers, no shrivelling either. Good thing I put a bit of Pickle Crisp into each jar before sealing! These burpless might otherwise get soft sooner than the other cuke varieties and our bottles don't tend to get consumed all that fast. What recipe do you use if you want to make gherkins? I thought it interesting that the NCHFP recipes calls for pricking the cukes with a fork during one of the brining soaks, I figure to let the flavor/vinegar/sugar in. I never noticed any holes in the store-bought gherkins! I'll have to make note of the varieties you're growing. Didn't know there's one called 'Heinz'. How many plants are you growing to be able pick 30 everyday? I thought 30 from my 4 little plants was pretty good and there's still little ones on the nodes I already picked from. Weirdly plentiful, but great if you want to make gherkins! I wish my Kirby's were more plentiful.

I LOVED this mix and it was so much less intimidating for me than a recipe calling for all the spices(and of course going and buying the stuff.) I get intimidated by long lists of ingredients (it doesnt matter that I KNOW i can do it either, it the list is long I tend to shy away from it completely.... ) like the pickle spices so this worked great. It said let sit for 6 weeks for best flavor. I cracked one at 2 weeks and have been eating those darn pickles like candy. I remember eating pickled carrot sticks as a kid and want to make some, I plan to pick up more mix and carrots this weekend if life stays calm. I like the Splenda idea soo much, sucks that I cant eat that stuff.. It makes me oh so sick. The 6 ish cups of Sugar was a LOT for me... But yum yum. I cant wait for the green beans to produce so I can try those too! I have a couple pretty red cayenne peppers I picked from the garden yesterday that I could add.. I bet that would add a nice zing!. Hmmm cauliflower... yummm... Maybe I will put that on my list of things to pickle... along with the bread and butter garlic I want to make.... Mmmm garlic..... I wonder how thick slices of onion would pickle?????? anybody know...

Only pickles I made last year were fermented dills - didn't have many pickling cukes (planted in poor soil) though the slicing cukes did well. But I got out my Joy of Pickling and found the "My Way" recipe doesn't call for onions - I did make those in 2010 and thought they needed a bit more sugar and maybe some cloves though (and I will definitely skip the red pepper flakes for my dad!). Now - wondering if I should try making B&B zukes - not necessarily at same time/in same jar. Think there was a recipe posted here (I'm sure there's one in Ball Complete). But do the zukes need to be small (size of a slicing cuke) to make those successfully? Would crookneck squash work (see other post)?

Penn State's agricultural service (food safety division) says slicing or burpless varieties aren't well-suited for pickling (mainly a quality rather than a safety issue) but that they can be used in bread and butter-type pickle recipes or in relishes so finding the right recipe can make use of at least some of the surplus. If you want to mix some of the white cucumbers in with the green, you can. It's a pickling cucumber, so sure. Keep in mind that time will change the pickles, so they may be great initially but not hold up so well over time or the delicate flavor may be subsumed by the pickling brine. Only time will tell. In that case the benefit may be principally aesthetic, but there's nothing wrong with trying to make your pickles "pretty." Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Penn State Cucumbers for Pickling