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14-Day Sweet Pickles

A 14-day fermented sweet pickle recipe
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 minutes
Fermenting Time 14 days
Total Time 14 days 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Anytime, Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 14
Calories 978 kcal

Equipment

  • (1) 8x8-inch double-folded food-grade cheesecloth
  • (1) 2-gallon crock
  • 16 pint canning jars (or equivalent size jars of your choice)
  • 1 water bath canner (deep enough to hold pint jars)
  • tongs
  • jar lifter

Ingredients
  

  • 2 gallons fresh pickling cucumbers
  • 1 gallon water
  • 2 cups pickling salt
  • 2 tablespoons alum
  • 16 cups sugar
  • 2 quarts white vinegar
  • 1.5- ounce jar pickling spices

Instructions
 

Days 1-7
  • Wash and then trim off 1/4 inch off both ends of cucumbers. Then cut into cubes, slices, or strips and place them into the crock. Pour pickling salt over the cucumbers.
  • In a large pan bring 1 gallon of water to a boil. Pour boiling water over cucumbers. Stir.
  • Cover the crock with a dinner plate. If necessary, place a smaller plate in the crock to push down the cucumbers so they are all covered with the salted water.
  • Let the cucumbers sit in the crock for 7 days. Stir each day.
Day 8
  • Drain off the water and discard it. Leave the cucumbers in the crock. Add the alum to the cucumbers.
  • In a large pot, heat to boiling 1 gallon of (fresh) water.
  • Pour water over the pickles and alum. Stir to dissolve the alum. Cover and let stand for 24 hours.
Days 9-13
  • Drain off the alum water from the crock leaving the cucumbers.
  • In a large pot, add the vinegar and sugar. Stir until the sugar starts dissolving. Then heat the mixture until it boils.
  • While the sugar water is coming up to boil, cut a large (about 8x8 inches or 20 cm) double-folded square of cheesecloth. Pour the jar of pickling spice into the middle of the cheesecake cloth. Gather up the four corners and pull tight and then tie a knot with the cheesecake cloth. Add this spice packet to the cucumbers in the crock.
  • Then pour the boiling sugar syrup over the cucumbers in the crock. Cover the crock, again using a smaller plate if necessary to push the cucumbers underneath the syrup level. The cucumbers will sit in the syrup for 5 days.
  • Each day pour the sugar syrup into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Then pour the boiling syrup back over the cucumbers and cover.
Day 14
  • Fill a canner with a rack with enough water to cover the tops of the jars. Remember that when the canning jars are added, the water in the canner will rise. Add the canner lid and heat the water to a simmer.
  • Prepare pint or half-pint canning jars by washing and then placing them in an oven set to 350°F to sanitize. Drain the water off the jars, but do not dry them. Heat for at least 15 minutes. The heat will sterilize the jars and also prepare them for canning.
  • In a medium pan, add washed lids and rings, then fill with enough water to fully cover them. Heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil.
  • Pour the crock syrup liquid into a large pot and heat to a boil.
  • Remove jars two at a time from the oven and pack with pickles. Use a spoon to help pack the pickles in. Using a funnel or a glass measuring cup with a spout, pour in enough boiling syrup to completely cover pickles, leaving a 1/2-inch air space at the top of the jar. Do not fill the jars to the top.
  • With a wet, clean cloth or paper towel, wipe the jar tops to remove any liquid. Using tongs, retrieve a lid and ring from the simmering water and place them on the jar. Tighten with a towel. Do not overtighten.
  • Repeat until all jars are filled. Then place the jars on the rack in the canner and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the processed jars from the canner and set them on a rack or towel, spacing them far enough apart to allow air to circulate so they will cool. Jars will self-seal as they cool. When sealed, the center will self-flatten and stay flattened if you press on it. Do not press on the lid centers before they seal.
  • Write the date and "Icicle Pickles" on the jar lids. They will last for a year or more.

Notes

Miscellaneous Information

  1. You must stir the cucumbers every day as stated in the recipe. This will keep a film from forming on the top of the salted water.
  2. Alum can be placed either in the crock on top of the cucumbers or in the water and brought to a boil.  Just make sure you stir it to help it dissolve.
  3. This recipe makes about 14 pint-sized jars. You can also use other sizes of canning jars. You can cut this recipe in half.
  4. Only use real pickling salt. Other salts have additives that shouldn't be used in food preservation.
  5. Only use real canning jars. Other jars may not be heat-resistant or suitable for food storage.
  6. Only use new canning lids. Previously used lids will not seal again.
  7. It is okay to use rings again as long as they are not rusted from previous use.
  8. The best way to drain the water from the crock is to use a large slotted spoon or skimmer to lift the cucumbers and place them in a large bowl. Once the cucumbers are removed, pour the liquid from the crock. Place the cucumbers back in the crock and pour out any liquid from the bowl.
  9. Jars can also be sterilized by boiling in the canner for 10 minutes. For a high-altitude chart for water bath times, click here.
  10. Occasionally, the jars do not seal. If only a jar or two, place them in the refrigerator and use within 2 months.
  11. Sometimes the jars seal, but later become unsealed. If you find an unsealed stored jar, throw it out. There is no way to know how long it has been unsealed. It is better to err on the side of caution because food poisoning can occur.

Troubleshooting

  • If pink foam forms on the cucumbers during fermentation, discard them.
  • If the cucumbers smell unpleasant at any time during the 14-day process, discard them. They should smell briny from the salted water, but there should not be any unpleasant smells.  Unusual smells that develop may indicate that unwanted bacteria are growing.
  • If a moldy fuzz appears on the top of the salted water and cucumbers, discard them.
  • If the cucumbers turn soft or slimy during fermentation, discard them.
  • Over time, pickles can become soft. Use them within a year of preservation.
  • Cloudy pickles can be caused by using salt with additives. Only use canning salt.

Nutritional Information

The nutritional information is for each jar of 14-Day Sweet Pickles, not for individual servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 978kcalCarbohydrates: 242gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.03gSodium: 16.381mgPotassium: 778mgFiber: 4gSugar: 236gVitamin A: 406IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 225mgIron: 2mg
Keyword 14-day sweet pickles, Homemade Sweet Pickles, Icicle Pickle Recipe, Icicle Pickles, Sweet Pickle Recipe, Sweet Pickles, Sweet Pickles Recipe
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