Old Fashioned Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe for Canning (2024)

There is nothing better than an old fashioned bread and butter pickles. Luckily this bread and butter pickles recipe is easy to make containing many ingredients from the pantry. Canning bread and butter pickles creates a shelf stable item which can be enjoyed well into the winter months.

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Old Fashioned Bread and Butter Pickles

I can remember the first time canning bread and butter pickles. Not realizing the amount of time it took to create this was, well, almost frustrating. That was, until a jar was open and I had a taste of what I had preserved.

There are many variations as to how to create this recipe, and each in its own right is delicious.

• substitute cucumbers for summer squash such as, zucchini yellow squash
• add crushed or whole dried peppers, even freshly grated horseradish root for a spicy bread & butter pickles
• keep pickles crisp longer by adding natural tannin (though a softer texture is traditional)
• adjust the spices according to your desired taste, add crushed fresh garlic cloves for a slightly different flavor
• substitute the distilled vinegar for a smoother vinegar option (see below)

It’s all about the Pickles

There is no denying it, people love pickled items. Whether the recipe calls for the use of cucumbers, beets, garlic scapes, carrots, asparagus, and even green beans people will consume it. Case in point, pickled watermelon rinds.

Just look at these delicious pickled recipes:

• golden beets
• asparagus
• garlic scapes
• Grandma’s old fashioned pickles
• refrigerator pickles
• carrots
• green beans

The joy in creating pickled items is the ability to utilize vinegar other than white distilled vinegar. The only stipulation, the vinegar used must be 5% acidic or higher.

Try the following vinegar options in place of distilled vinegar:

• white wine
• red wine
• rice vinegar
• apple cider vinegar
• Basalmic
• champagne

The type of vinegar to use will vary based on what is being preserved and the desired flavor.

The Sustainable Canning Course

Are you searching for canning classes near you? Look no further!The Sustainable Canning Courseis a self-paced series of online classes designed to help you on the road to achieving food ownership.

The Sustainable Canning Courseis an extension of my book,The Farm Girl’s Guideto Preserving theHarvest. I wrote this bookto help guide those who seek to own their food source the opportunity to do so. It is a comprehensive, easy to understand book covering all methods of home food preservation, canning, drying, fermenting, curing, freezing, and storing fresh foods.

• Understand why pressure canning is necessary to preserve foods.
• Confidently alter or create recipes to be canned.
• Preserve many tomato products utilizing scientific information with traditional tools.
• How modern canning tools, such as the steam canner and steam juicer, revolutionized preserving methods.
• Understanding how to decipher information shared by the National Center of Home Food Preservation.
• Discover how easy it is to can meat, fish, soups, and stews.

These topics and many more are available withinThe Sustainable Canning Course. Reserve your spot now, and begin gleaning the necessary information needed to preserve foods as a modern sustainable homesteader does.

Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

Keep in mind, an old fashioned bread and butter recipe can be made modern by substituting a few simple ingredients.

Ingredients

• 6 pounds pickling cucumbers
• 8 cups onions (roughly 3 pounds), sweet yellow or red onions thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 4 cups distilled white vinegar
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon celery seed
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

Equipment

• non-reactive heavy bottom pot, copper jam pot, enamel Dutch oven, stainless steel
• steam canner or boiling water canner
• large stainless steel or glass mixing bowl
• jar funnel
• air bubble remover
• 8 pint size jars
• measure cup
• measuring spoons
• slotted spoon
• ladle

Instructions

1. Wash cucumbers well, soak cucumbers for 15 minutes in cold water to crisp softer cukes.
2. Cut and discard the blossom end of the cucumber to slow the enzymes which cause foods to continue ripening.
3. In a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl combine cucumbers and onions, add salt and mix well. Cover the salted cucumber slices with 2-inches of crushed or cubed ice. Place into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours, add additional ice as needed.
4. In a non-reactive pot combine the dried herbs, sugar, and vinegar. Bring the brine to a boil, allow to boil for 10 minutes.
5. Drain the cucumbers and onions, add to the brine. Allow the mixture to return to a boil.
6. Using a slotted spoon, add cucumbers and onions to clean, sterilized jars leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.
7. Place jar funnel onto jar, using a ladle fill jars with the brine.
8. Remove air bubbles, add additional brine as needed.
9. Wipe the rims using a clean damp cloth, add warmed lids and rings finger tight.
10. Processing time is based on the altitude in which you reside, see the chart below.

Allow the jars to rest for 4 to 5 weeks prior to consuming. This ensures the maximum flavor has been achieved.

Canning Bread and Butter Pickles

As mentioned in step 10 of the instructions, the processing time is based on the altitude in which you reside.

My Book

The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest is a comprehensive book covering multiple methods for preserving foods in the comfort of your home. Learn how to safely can, dry, ferment, cure, freeze, and store foods fresh as a sustainable homesteader would. The tips, tricks, and recipes within this book will provide you the confidence and knowledge needed to own your food source.

Printable Recipe Card

For your convenience a printable recipe card is now available.

Whether you are consuming this old fashioned bread and butter recipe directly out of the jar or as a condiment for burgers, it is a great staple for every pantry!