Old Fashioned Pickle Recipes

Cucumber Pickles

To one gallon of water put two cups of salt; let this come to a scalding heat and pour over the cucumbers; let them stand over night and turn off in the morning; scald vinegar and pour over them, and let them stand in this vinegar twenty-four hours; then take two teaspoons of pulverized alum to a gallon of fresh vinegar, heat it and pour over the pickles; add one tablespoon of sugar and spices to your taste. These pickles will keep a long time.

Cucumber Pickles (2)

Put the cucumbers into rather strong salt and water over night, then rinse and lay in a jar, and pour over them scalding vinegar every day for three days; the third day take a teacup of English mustard seed, a handful of allspice, half as much cloves, a teacup of broken cinnamon and half a cup of whole black pepper; put them into a small, thin muslin bag and boil in fresh vinegar an hour; put two or three red pepper-pods and some strips of horseradish among the pickles. Use vinegar enough to cover the pickles; put into it a pound of brown sugar, let it scald, and pour over the pickles; let the bag of spices remain in the jar, and when ready to put away pour over a coffee cup of molasses, letting it settle gradually. This receipt will pickle a three gallon jar of cucumbers.

New Cucumber Pickles

To one gallon of water allow one tumbler of salt, and soak the cucumbers twenty-four hours; change this three times; drain off the salt water and put them in a brass kettle and cover with good vinegar; cover the whole with horseradish leaves; let them boil until the cucumbers have taken the green from the leaves. If you cannot get horseradish leaves grape leaves will do.

Ripe Cucumbers

Pare and core the cucumbers, and cut them into any shape you like; lay them in weak brine over night; make your vinegar as sweet as you wish and boil a few at a time until clear; then boil down the syrup a little and turn over them. Watermelon rinds are good prepared in the same way.

French Pickles

Take one peck of green tomatoes sliced, and six large onions sliced; throw over them a teacup of salt and let them stand .twenty-four hours; drain, and boil in two quarts of water and one quart of vinegar twenty minutes, then drain again and take four quarts of vinegar, two pounds of brown sugar, a half pound of white mustard seed, two tablespoons of ground allspice, the same of cloves, cinnamon, ginger and mustard, and a half tablespoon of Cayenne pepper; put all together with the tomatoes and onions and boil fifteen or twenty minutes, or until the tomato looks clear.

French Pickles (2)

One peck of green tomatoes sliced, fifty cucumbers sliced, two quarts of little onions, two heads of cauliflower cut in pieces, one handful of horseradish, one box of cinnamon, one box of cloves, a fourth of a pound of black pepper, a half pound of ground mustard and three pounds of sugar; salt the vegetables twenty-four hours, then rinse in cold water and put them into the kettle with the spices, cover with vinegar and cook half an hour.

Highden Pickles

Chop fine equal quantities of green tomutoes, cucumbers, onions and a few green peppers, and when mixed sprinkle with salt; let them stand S day, then pour the water off and pour on boiling vinegar, with mustard and spices.

Pickled Tomatoes

Wash green tomatoes and slice them rather thin. Weigh them and to eight pounds of tomatoes allow three or four sliced onions, four pounds of sugar and one gallon of cider vinegar. Put the vinegar in a porcelain kettle with the sugar; stir, and when it boils remove it and let it stand a few minutes until you can remove the scum without wasting the vinegar; then add the onions, two teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of powdered cinnamon, one teaspoon of powdered cloves and one grated nutmeg; then set it upon the fire and add the tomatoes. When the vinegar begins to simmer, press them gently down; let them boll two or three minutes and put them into covered jars or, when cool, into wide-necked bottles.

Pickled Tomatoes (2)

Take small, smooth tomatoes, not very ripe, scald them until the skin will slip off easily, and sprinkle salt over them. After they have stood twenty-four hours, drain off the juice and pour on a boiling hot pickle composed of one pound of sugar, two teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of cloves to every quart of vinegar. Drain off the liquid, scald it and pour on them again, every other day for a week. They will require no further care.

Green Tomato Pickles

Slice one peck of green tomatoes; add one cup of salt, and let them stand over night; drain the water from them and add one gallon of vinegar, one large spoon of allspice, one teaspoon of cloves, one tablespoon of cinnamon, a half teaspoon of ground mustard, four cups of sugar, one cup of grated horse-radish, and simmer together ten minutes.

Green Tomato Pickles (2)

Take one peck of green tomatoes sliced, and one dozen onions sliced; sprinkle them with salt and let them stand until the next day; then drain them and use the following spices: One box of mustard, one and a half ounces of unground cloves, one ounce of yellow mustard seed, and one ounce of allspice. Wet the mustard before adding it. Put into a kettle a layer of spices and one of tomatoes and onions alternately, and cover with vinegar. Boil the whole for a few minutes.

Pickled Cabbage

Slice white and red cabbage very fine, put into a jar alternately, sprinkle salt on each layer; also whole black pepper, black mustard seed, and cinnamon broken fine; then cover with cold vinegar. It will be ready for use in twenty-four hours.

Pickled Cauliflower

Take the whitest full-grown cauliflower, cut off the thick stock and split the flower into eight or ten pieces, spread them on a large dish and sprinkle with salt; let them stand twenty-four hours, then wash off the salt, drain them, put them into a flat jar, scald with salt and water (allowing a quarter of a pound of salt to a quart of water), cover closely and let it stand until next day; afterwards drain them in a hair sieve and spread in a warm place to dry for a day and night. Then put them in a glass jar and pour over them a pickle that has been prepared as follows: Mix together three ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of turmeric, one ounce of mustard seed and one ounce of ginger. Pound the whole to a fine powder; put it into three quarts of cider vinegar, set it by the fire in a stone jar and let it infuse three days. These are the proportions but the quantity of pickle must depend on the quantity of cauliflower, which must be well covered by the liquid; pour it over the flower and secure the jar closely from the air.

Green Pepper Mangoes

Secure nice large peppers; cut a slit in them and take out the seed. Slice a head of cabbage very fine, salt it as for slaw, and mix very thick with black mustard seed; fill the peppers with this dressing and sew up the slit. Lay them in a jar and pour over enough cold vinegar to cover them.

Mangoes

Take small nutmeg or musk-melons, peel them, cut out a slice and remove the pulp and seed; take three heads of cauliflower, one peck of small cucumbers, one quart of small onions, one quart of nasturtiums, one quart of small green tomatoes, one quart of green beans, one pint of radish pods, six or eight carrots cut in rings and a half pint of mustard seed; cut the cauliflower into bunches, leaving a small head on each; put the vegetables in a large jar, pour over them a brine made of two gallons of boiling water, one and a half pints of salt and a lump of alum the size of a walnut; leave them in the brine two or three days, then wash clear in water, drain, and fill each melon, adding a teaspoon of mustard seed; adjust the piece taken out and tie a cord around; place them in a jar, and if any of the ingredients remain fill the space with them. Take six quarts of good cider vinegar, three-fourths of a pound of mustard seed, two ounces of allspice, a half ounce of mace, two or three roots of ginger, two or three red peppers and one tablespoon of pulverized alum. Boil all together, and pour while boiling hot over the pickles.

Piccalilli

Mix tomatoes, chopped and drained, with chopped onions, red and green peppers and horseradish; add spices, salt, sugar and a little curry powder; cover with vinegar and boil one hour.

Piccalilli (2)

Take one peck of full grown tomatoes, sliced, and one pint of salt, cover them and let them stand twelve or fourteen hours, then squeeze them out into a pint of fresh water and let them stand a few hours. Take twelve green peppers and seven small onions, put them with the tomatoes and chop all pretty fine, then put them into a brass kettle, cover with a weak vinegar, let it remain over the fire till quite -hot, then strain off the vinegar. Take some good old vinegar, add one pint of white mustard seed and some grated horseradish; scald it, with one tablespoon of sugar one tablespoon of mace, one tablespoon of unground cloves and a half cup of broken cinnamon. Pour it over the tomatoes in a stone jar and it is ready for use.

Piccalilli (3)

Two dozen green tomatoes, two dozen large cucumbers, one dozen small cucumbers, one dozen onions, one cabbage, six bunches of celery and six large green peppers; chop and mix well, stir in one handful of salt and let stand two hours or more, then drain in a colander. Pour one quart of water and two quarts of vinegar into a porcelain kettle and, when boiling, put in the mixture, a part at a time, and scald ten minutes; skim and drain again, place in small crocks or jars and pour on the following, scalding hot : One gallon of vinegar, three pounds of sugar, a half pound of white mustard seed, two tablespoons of ground mustard, one tablespoon of black pepper, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper, three tablespoons of cinnamon and one tablespoon of cloves.

Chow-Chow

One pint of nasturtiums, one pint of small onions, a half peck of small cucumbers, one quart of string beans, one quart of small green tomatoes, four small carrots cut into rings, two heads of cauliflower, two ounces of white mustard seed, two ounces of black mustard seed, a half pint of salt, a half pound of ground mustard, mixed with eight tablespoons of olive oil, a fourth of an ounce of celery seed and a fourth of an ounce of turmeric. Mix well and cover with boiling vinegar.

Chow-Chow (2)

One cauliflower cut in small pieces, one dozen small white onions, two dozen small cucumbers, one quart of string beans, one ounce of black mustard seed, one ounce of white mustard seed, one teaspoon of Cayenne pepper, a quarter of an ounce of turmeric, pieces of horseradish cut fine and a half gallon of vinegar, or more. Scald the spices and vinegar together and pour over the vegetables boiling hot; after it is cold mix one pound of mustard in vinegar and add to the pickles.

Chow-Chow (3)

Two heads of cauliflower, two dozen small cucumbers, a half peck of string beans, *afe roots of celery, six green peppers, one quart of small white onions and a fourth of a peck of small green tomatoes, cut into small pieces; sprinkle with salt and let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain. Take one gallon or more of vinegar, one-fourth pound of mustard seed, two pots of French mustard, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of ground pepper, two ounces of turmeric and two ounces of cinnamon; pour the vinegar and spices into a kettle and let them come to a boil, then add the vegetables, and let them scald till yellow and a little tender.

Sweet Pickles

Eight pounds of ripe tomatoes, four pounds of sugar, a half ounce of cloves, a half ounce of allspice and a half ounce of cinnamon. Peel the fruit and boil one and a half hours; when partly cold add a half pint of vinegar. Put away in jars.

Spiced Cherries

To seven pounds of fruit allow three and a half pounds of sugar; let them boil fifteen minutes or a little more, then skim out the fruit and add to the syrup one pint of vinegar, one ounce of cinnamon and a half ounce of cloves. Put the spices into a bag and let them boil one hour in the vinegar; then pour over the cherries.

Spiced Currants

Five pounds of currants, four pounds of sugar, two tablespoons of ground cloves, two tablespoons of ground cinnamon and a half pint of vinegar. Scald the vinegar and spices together and pour over the fruit; the next day pour off and scald again; the third day scald together.

Spiced Grapes

Squeeze the pulps from the skins, cook them till tender, put them through a colander to remove the seeds, then put pulps and skins together and make according to the following receipt: Seven pounds of grapes, three pounds of sugar, spice to the taste and one pint of vinegar. Boil till the grape skins are tender and the compound thick.

Spiced Apples

Five pounds of sweet apples, two pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, three nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon and a little salt. Boil the fruit in the syrup until soft.

Spiced Plums

One peck of sorted plums, one quart of good vinegar, six pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of cinnamon, a half ounce of cloves and a half ounce of mace. Boil the sugar with the vinegar and spices, then add the plums and boil until they begin to be soft.

Spiced Peaches

Eight and a half pounds of peaches, three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, cloves, cinnamon stick and ginger root. Tie the spices in a bag and boil with the vinegar and sugar, and pour over the fruit. Repeat this six successive mornings.

Pickled Peaches

Seven pounds of peaches, four pounds of sugar and one quart of vinegar and spices. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices together; then put in a few of the peaches, if too many are put in at a time some of them will get too soft. When they begin to be soft take them out and put more in, till all are done; then pour the syrup over the peaches. If they begin to be sour, scald the vinegar and pour it over the fruit for several successive days.

Pickled Plums

Three-fourths of a pound of sugar, one pound of fruit and vinegar sufficiently to dissolve the sugar. Boil the vinegar and sugar together; skim it and put in the cloves, mace and cinnamon; scald the plums till tender, then take them out and boil down the syrup and pour it over the fruit.

Pickled Pairs

Pare and halve the pears, put four pounds of sugar to one gallon of vinegar and boil with cloves and cassia buds, pounded and tied in a rag. Scald the pears a little, if hard, as pouring the vinegar on does not soften them.

Pickled Grapes

Cut bunches of not over ripe grapes and lay in a jar with grape leaves between the layers. Pour over the whole a cold syrup made as follows: One quart of vinegar, four pounds of sugar, and cloves, cinnamon and mace tied in a bag and boiled in the vinegar.

Pickled Raisins

Boil two pounds of raisins till tender in vinegar enough to cover them. Skim the raisins out and add to the vinegar one pound of sugar. Cloves and cinnamon to taste. Pour the syrup, boiling hot, over the raisins.

Watermelon Pickles

Cut the melon rind into strips or whatever shape desired; make a weak solution of alum and pour over; let it stand twenty-four hours; then scald in clear water and drain. To seven pounds of rind, take one quart of good cider vinegar, four pounds of sugar and a half pint of ginger root; put in the rind and boil till it looks clear; then remove the fruit to a jar and boil the liquid until it is a rich syrup.

Watermelon Pickles (2)

Boil the melon until you can stick a fork through it readily. To seven pounds of fruit take three pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar and one ounce each of cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Scald the vinegar, put sugar and spices in, and pour over the melon. Do this for three mornings.