Pickled

Day 308: After making seven pints of curry pickles a week ago (my mother's recipe), I realized that they weren't going to go very far if I gave a bottle to everyone who dropped hints. The next time I went to town, I bought more cucumbers, sugar and spices, and another dozen Kerr pint jars (my preferred brand). I checked with Kevin to see how much work had piled up on my desk (not much), and then took Wednesday off to can.

Pickles are a two-day process. The chunked cucumbers must be soaked in brine 24 hours before the actual canning can be done. The canning process involves every square inch of counter space within reach of the stove, and every burner is occupied by the canning kettle or some other vessel holding hot water, lids or rings, or in the boiling of the pickles preparatory to putting them in the jars. Modern stoves aren't built to accommodate a large hot-water bath canner along with the other implements necessary for the job, but somehow I manage to pull it all together in a timely manner. That's a factor: the jars must be sterilized by boiling for 20 minutes, the vegetables must be boiled in the spice liquid for 5, and the lids and rings must be scalded for 5. Big kettles and little pots must reach the boiling point in sequence so that at the last minute, everything is ready for the final stage. Once the hot pickles are in the jars and have been topped up with liquid, the rims must be wiped and the lids applied. Then they're placed in the hot-water bath and processed (boiled) for ten minutes.

Once I've lowered them into the canner, I can relax...or start cleaning up the kitchen. There's nothing left to do except remove the pickles from their bath and wait to hear the delightful sound of *plink!* *plink!* *plink!* as the jars seal. The pickles? Far and away my favourite sweet pickle, they shouldn't be opened for at least two weeks in order to develop the full flavour.