To me, the absolute easiest thing to do is make pickles. I admit it - I cheat on this one. I do not brine my cucumbers. I use a prepackaged mix for flavoring. But the advantage to this is crisper pickles, and the flavor is ALWAYS consistent.
Needed:
Towel for countertop. I use a bath towel that's folded in half.
Water. Jar tongs, ladle, wide mouth canning funnel, measuring cup, spoon or spatula for stirring.
Sugar if you're making sweet or bread and butter pickles.
5% acidity white vinegar. You can buy the vinegar labeled specifically for pickling, but this is the same thing for less cost.
Mrs. Wage's Quick Pickle mix. I use pretty much every flavor the company makes, and have had success with every batch.
Pickle Crisp. I just started adding this last season, and it does help keep the end product firmer and crunchier.
Pickling cucumbers. If you don't grow your own, get them from a local farmer's market stand. You can use the slicers sold in the grocery store, but they are more likely to soften when processed. If you go this route, I would use them only for spears or wedges. They are generally too tall to process whole, and slicing them might mean you end up with really soggy pickles. They also can have a wax coating on them, which has to be cleaned off.
And of course, you need jars with rings and seals. Run the jars through a hot dishwasher cycle OR hand wash in hot, soapy water to be sure they are thoroughly clean. Put the seals in a small pot of boiling hot water (no heat while the seals are in it!). This will sterilize the seals, and soften the compound for better sealing results.
Pickles are high acid and don't need to be pressurized. Use a large, wide stock pot with a dish towel on the bottom, or use a water bath pot with a jar rack. You will need to put enough water in the pot to cover the jars by about 1 inch during processing. This water needs to be boiling BEFORE you put the jars in.
What to do:
Follow the package instructions! This might seem obvious, but it amazes me how many times I am asked what I do to make pickles. Basically, you're going to put the water, vinegar, and pickle mix into a pot and bring the mixture to a near boil. Stir to mix. Keep the mixture hot until ready to use. That's it.
Wash your cucumbers, and slice them into wedges, spears, slices. Or leave them whole. Whatever you like. If you use a mandolin slicer (which I do), BE CAREFUL!! They Bite!!! I've sliced my finger and thumb more than once on that thing. Using a food processor with a slicing blade might be easier, but you may not get the thickness on the slices that you want. Or do it by hand with a knife. It's your choice.
Once the cucumbers are washed and cut, put them into clean jars. Pack them fairly tightly. They will loosen during processing simple because they will soften to a certain point from the heat. Add the pickle mixture until it's at the bottom of the threads of the jar.
With a damp (not wet) cloth or paper towel, wipe the jar rim. Make sure there are no seeds or cucumber bits on that rim or your jars will not seal! Place the seal on the clean rim, and put the ring on. Hand tighten the ring - don't make it super tight, and don't leave it loose enough to wiggle.
Use the jar tongs to place the closed jars into the water bath. Don't try this with bare fingers. Remember, that water pot should have boiling water in it! And the pickle mix should still be hot enough to heat the jars when you have filled them. Depending on the size of your pot and your jars, you should be able to process between 5 and 10 jars at a time.
Bring the water back to a boil, set a timer, and let the water do its thing. When finished, turn off the heat and wait 5 minutes. Then use the jar tongs to lift the jars out. Place the hot jars on the towel to cool. This will help minimize water puddling on the counter, and keep your area cleaner.
Processing times - Remember that time starts only after the water in the pot is boiling again:
Pint jars - 10 minutes Quart jars - 15 minutes
That little "pop" you may hear is the seal being completed. The center of the seal is sucked downward as air is forced from the jar. Once the jars are completely cool, check the seal by pressing gently in that middle area. If you cannot feel any movement, your seal is complete. If the middle pops down and back up, the seal didn't form correctly, and that jar should be refrigerated.
Use a marker or label to date your pickles. Mark the seals, or put paper labels on them. I don't label t
he jars themselves because it's just too hard to remove later on. The seals are generally rated for 18 months, but I keep pickles up to 24 months. They will hold longer, but since I make fresh batches every season, I try to use up or give away extras to keep a fresh rotation in the pantry.
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