Mixed Pickles

Photo: flickr user dirty bodega

Ingredients

3/4 cup pickling salt

4 quarts cold water

1 quart sliced cucumbers, 1 inch thick

2 cups sliced carrots, 1-½ inch thick

2 cups sliced celery, 1-½ inch thick

2 cups small boiling onions

2 sweet red pepper, cut into1/2" strips

1 small cauliflower, broken into floweret

6 1/2 cups vinegar, 5%% acidity

2 cups sugar

1 fresh hot red pepper, sliced crosswise

1/2 cup mustard seeds

2 tablespoons celery seeds

Preparation

Dissolve salt in water; pour over vegetables in a large crock or plastic container. Cover and let stand in a cool place 12 to 18 hours. Drain well.

Combine vinegar, sugar, hot red pepper and spices in a 10-quart Dutch oven; bring to a boil, and boil 3 minutes. Add vegetables; reduce heat, and simmer until thoroughly heated.

Pack into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw bands tight. Process in boiling-water bath 15 minutes.

Yield: about 6 pints