Best Recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles

Go to taste here with the herbs and flavorings. You can add less sugar (start with ¾ cup if you like).

These pickles are a cross between the sweeter bread and butter pickles of the past and our mild dills of today.

4 cups thinly sliced cucumbers with skin on
l small onion, thinly sliced, about l/2 to ¾ cup
l cup sugar
l teaspoon dill seed or l tablespoon fresh dill weed, minced
l/4 cup cold water
l/8 teaspoon turmeric
l/4 teaspoon mustard seed
l tablespoon salt
l/2 cup vinegar (cider or clear)
Good optional add-ins: Diced green or red bell pepper, small clove garlic, dash celery seed, diced hot pepper

Toss cucumbers and onions together. Set aside. Mix remaining ingredients and blend well, dissolving sugar. Pour over cucumber mixture. (Use a bowl that allows the liquid to cover the cucumbers). Cover and refrigerate several hours, stirring occasionally. Keeps covered, up to three weeks, in refrigerator. Makes about l quart.

TIPS FROM RITA’S KITCHEN:

USING STORE BOUGHT CUCUMBERS WITH WAXY COATING FOR PICKLES: Though the coating is food safe, try as I may, I haven’t been able to scrub it all off. Don’t worry, though, your pickles will still taste great.