In A Pickle... Lemon Pickles

Lemon Pickles

Found on fromthegardentable

Ingredients

* 10 cups pickling cukes, thinly sliced

* 2 cups red bell pepper, sliced into strips

* 4 tablespoons pickling salt

* 3/4 cup bottled lemon juice*

* 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar

* 3/4 cup water (plus an extra 2 cups)

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 4 lemon slices

* 1 teaspoon allspice berries, divided

Instructions

1. Combine the cukes, peppers and salt in a large bowl and mix well.

2. Cover the vegetables with ice water and let sit anywhere from 2-6 hours.

3. Prepare canner, jars and lids.

4. Drain and then rinse with water.

5. Combine water, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil.

6. At the same time bring the 2 cups of water to boil in a kettle.

7. Place 1 lemon slice and 1/4 teaspoon allspice berries into each jar.

8. Pack in the cukes and peppers.

9. Pour the vinegar mixture evenly into each jar, this will not cover the vegetables so add the boiling water to each jar leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

10.Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

11.Remove from canner and let sit, undisturbed, for 12 hours.

Notes

* Yields: 4 pints

* *In canning you must use bottled lemon juice as the ph is constant. If you use fresh lemon juice you don't know if you will have the correct acidity.

* **It is best to leave pickles unopened for 6 weeks for the flavors to full meld. (But you don't have to!)

By Andrea Chesman
Adapted from The Pickled Pantry