I am so very fortunate to have known my Great Great Aunt Ida. She was an amazing woman doing all these gardening, cooking, and sewing things constantly. We lived just a couple miles from her so I would go there quite a bit as a child. I’d always get to pick and peel garlic for her pickle recipes. She taught me how to sew once, and we made me a little leather coin purse with a painted white daisy on it.

She was also the Queen of pickle making. One year my mom took the time to follow her actions and write down the recipes for all her famous pickles, because Aunt Ida never wrote down her recipes or followed anything written down. Looking at the old recipes cards I can almost hear her coaching mom on what to write down and them laughing in the kitchen of the old farm house.

While collecting old family recipes for my family cookbook Aunt Ida’s pickle recipes were the first ones I knew I needed to have! No one had any copies of her recipes except for my mom, though I know she’d give people recipes they’d ask for, so I hadn’t had these home made pickles in nearly two decades. These dill pickles were my favorite as a kid and I was so excited to try them that I made a batch of them as soon as I got the recipe!

I always quarter or eighth my cucumbers lengthwise because I like pickle spears. To cut the cucumbers, I always cut the top and bottom ends off the cucumber first then cut them as desired from there.

This recipe makes one quart jar of dill pickles, if you want to make it in a pint jar instead just half the recipe.

Aunt Ida’s Sweet & Spicy Dill Pickles

Makes 1 quart jar

Ingredients:

Fresh Dill with seed heads
1 Tbsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tbsp mixed pickle spices
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp dill weed
2 buds garlic
1/2 C Vinegar
A few cucumbers, cut
1 red or green banana pepper (optional, omit if you don't want them to be spicy)

Instructions:

1. Put 2 stems of dill with seed heads at bottom of Quart jar.
2. Fill jar with cucumbers and all above spices.
3. Fill with hot water.
4. Seal, shake well.
5. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes: Add jars to hot water, bring back to boil. Boil (212 degrees) for 10 minutes.
6. Remove immediately from the hot water. Place on a towel to cool.
7. Store sealed at room temperature, keep in refrigerator after opened.