Bread and Butter Pickles

This was our first try at real, canned pickles. I've been a fan of making quick pickles for a while, and made a big batch of bread & butter pickles each of the last couple summers, but I always had a big jar of them that ended up taking up too much space in the fridge and hanging around too long. Since we started canning jams recently, I thought I'd try making some pickles to put up as well. The cucumbers and onions were all from our weekly CSA share.

We canned four pint jars, and had about ½ a pint left to refrigerate, which we tried today. They're pretty good, and crunchy - I had been afraid that they might not hold up as well to cooking, but they seemed fine.

Bread-and-Butter Pickles
about five 1-pint jars

Wash, then slice ⅛ inch from the ends of:
2½ pounds pickling cucumbers
Cut crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices. Peel, then cut the same way:
1 pound 2- to 2½-inch onions, preferably red
Combine the cucumbers and onions in a large bowl along with:
3 tbl. salt
Mix well to dissolve the salt. Cover with a clean wet towel, then top with 2 inches of ice. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Discard the ice; drain the vegetables, rinse, and drain again. Combine in a 4-quart or larger saucepan:
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 tbl. mustard seeds
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
¾ tsp. celery seeds
¾ tsp. ground turmeric
¼ tsp. ground cloves
Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cook uncovered until the syrup boils. Add the vegetables, stir to mix, and continue to heat until the syrup just begins to boil. Using a slotted spoon, pack the hot slices into hot pint jars and then add the hot syrup. Leave ½-inch headspace and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

From The Joy of Cooking: All about Canning and Preserving