88 KATE AITKEN'S CANADIAN COOK BOOK

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NINE-DAY PICKLES

Wash 4 quarts cucumbers; cut in generous pieces. Cover with
a strong brine (24 cup salt to 1 quart water); let stand for 3 days;
drain and wash. Cover with cold water and let stand 24 hours.
Drain; repeat this process the 2 following days. On the seventh
day, place the cucumbers in a large preserving kettle; cover with
weak vinegar solution (1 pint vinegar to 2 pints water). Simmer
for 3 hours; at the end of the first hour add a piece of alum the size
of a whole walnut. At the end of 3 hours drain, rinse and put the cu-
cumbers in a crock. Make the following syrup; simmer 5 minutes.

6 cups white wine vinegar 2-3” sticks whole cinnamon
4 cups white sugar 2 tablespoons celery seed
2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices

Pour the boiling syrup over the pickles; let stand 24 hours.
Drain and re-heat the syrup to boiling; pour over the pickles.
Repeat for 3 consecutive days in all. On the ninth day seal in
sterile jars or store in a crock.

SACCHARIN PICKLES

Gherkins or small, firm 1 cup salt

cucumbers 14 pound white mustard seed -
1 gallon cider vinegar l4 pound ground mustard

3 cups white sugar 1 oz. celery seed
2 drams saccharin 1 oz. curry powder

(120 1-grain tablets) 1 oz. turmeric

Heat the vinegar to boiling; add the white sugar and stir till
dissolved. Cool to lukewarm; add all remaining ingredients; pour
into a large crock. Wash and wipe the gherkins; drop them as
gathered into the vinegar solution. The large cucumbers should be
cut in gherkin-size pieces. ‘These pickles should not be used until
they have been in the solution 3 weeks. Be sure to keep the crock
in a cool place.

PICKLED BEETS

6-quart basket small beets lg cup water
11% cups cider vinegar 1 cup brown sugar

Scrub the beets and top them; cook in boiling salted water till
tender. Drain and plunge in cold water; rub off the skins; drop the
beets in sterile jars. In the meantime, make a pickling syrup of the
vinegar, water and sugar; let the syrup boil 5 minutes; fill the jars
with the beets; add syrup to overflowing. Place 3 whole cloves in
each jar; screw down the tops and invert each day for a week. Do
not use for at least 3 weeks. Yield: 5 pints.