Canning Dill Pickles: How to Make Crunchy Pickles

Save those fresh garden cucumbers for the year ahead by canning dill pickles! This recipe will teach you to make your own crunchy pickles that you can enjoy for months to come.

Save money on groceries, enjoy whole food ingredients, and learn a new skill with this delicious dill pickle recipe.

Helpful Tools for Canning Pickles

After the initial investment of purchasing your canning supplies, they can be used again and again to feed your family.

• A water bath canner or large pot. (I already use a Dial Gauge Pressure canner (I use this one) so I just use that without sealing it for my water bath canning. )
• Pint jars for your pickles (you can also use quart jars if you are wanting larger portions)
• Canning supplies like a jar lifter and canning funnel
• A way to soak your whole cucumbers (like a large mixing bowl, or your clean sink filled with water).
• A towel or dish mat for putting the hot jars onto to protect your counter once they are finished canning.
• White distilled vinegar for wiping your jars rims/cleaning your jars after canning

Ingredients Needed for Canning Dill Pickles

• Fresh Cucumbers – choose the freshest pickling cucumbers available for the crunchiest pickles.
• Garlic – whole garlic cloves.
• Dill seed
• Dill weed – fresh dill is the best for making pickles, but dried dill works in a pinch as well.
• Peppercorns – whole peppercorns hold up the best for flavoring home canned pickles.
• Salt – use a non iodized salt to avoid discoloration during the canning process. I use Celtic grey salt, but kosher salt or pickling salt works as well.
• Sugar – plain white sugar works best in this recipe.
• White distilled vinegar –
• Filtered water – use filtered water for making the brine.

How to Water Bath Can Pickles

Start by soaking your cucumbers in very cold water for up to an hour while preparing your brine and jars.

Combine the water, white vinegar, salt and sugar into a pot over medium high heat to make the brine. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.

Bring the brine to a full boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Allow the brine to cool while you prepare your jars.

To to the bottom of the jars: add 1 head of dill (or ¼ tsp dried dill if using), 2 cloves of whole, peeled garlic, ¼ tsp whole peppercorns, ⅛ tsp dill seed, 1/8 tsp mustard seed.

Slice the blossom end and stem end of your cucumber off.

Prepare the cucumbers for the jars by cutting them in your preferred shape.

Add the cucumbers to the jar.

After allowing your brine to cool, begin filling the jars with brine.

Fill the jars to ½ inch headspace.

Use a butter knife or chopstick to release the air bubbles from inside the jar.

Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean rag dipped in vinegar.Place the lids on the jar and tighten to fingertip tightness. 

Add the jars to your water bath canner covering them with a 2-inch headspace.

Bring the jars in the canner up to a rolling boil.

Process the jars according to your canner’s manufacturer instructions for a processing time of 15 minutesTurn the canner off and allow jars to rest in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them.

Using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the canner and place them on a dish towel or drying mat on the counter.

Once jars have cooled, remove the rings, clean jars, and label them for storage.

Tips for Making Crunchy Pickles

Choosing the Right Cucumbers

Believe it or not, the type of cucumber you use can affect the success of your homemade pickles as much as following the processing directions correctly.

Different pickle varieties have variations in skin texture, water content, size, amount of seeds, and even texture and flavor.

To make a crunchy pickle, you’ll want to select a pickling variety of cucumber. I grow the Boston Pickling variety in my garden and have been very happy with the results!

It is also important to select cucumbers that are not overly large, or over ripe.

Look for cucumbers without wrinkles or blemishes that are between 3 and 4 inches long to make spears, or even very small cucumbers if you would like whole baby pickles instead.

Avoid cucumbers of any kind that have begun to turn yellow instead of green, or cucumbers that have very dark waxy skin. These will produce a very tough skinned pickle, with a watery flesh. Not at all what we are looking for!

Preparing the Cucumbers

When preparing your cucumbers, prioritize allowing them to soak in very cold water for up to an hour while you gather and prep ingredients.

This will ensure that they retain maximum freshness before being put through the canning process.

When harvesting your own cucumbers for homemade pickles, it isn’t always possible to get enough cucumbers in one day. To keep them fresh until you are ready to use them, I store them in the produce drawer of my refrigerator until I can soak them and can them. (Preferably no more than 2 days).

Once washed and soaked, cut off the blossom end of the cucumber (the end opposite where the stem grew from).

Believe it or not, the blossom end of cucumbers contains an enzyme that will make the pickles soft in the jars and can give them a bitter flavor.

Packing the Jars for Canning Dill Pickles

When canning dill pickles for maximum crunch, I like to allow my pickling brine to cool a bit before pouring them over the cucumbers. 

I’ve found that using a room temperature brine prevents the pickles from being shocked with simmering hot water before being further processed in a water bath canner. 

Most pickle recipes will have you pour boiling water over the cucumbers, then add them to the canner. I find that the hot water temperature results in mushy pickles instead of crunchy dill pickles. 

Optional Extra Ingredients

Grape leaves – grape leaves are a popular ingredient in making crunchy pickles.

Grape leaves contain tannins that inhibit enzyme actions that break down vegetables, making them mushy or soft.

I don’t readily have access to grape leaves, so I wanted to find another way to make my pickles crisp.

If you have access to grape leaves, consider adding one to your jar to see the difference you can make!

Pickle Crisp- pickle crisp is a trademarked canning product from the Ball Canning company. It contains calcium chloride which can be used as a firming agent in canning. It is advertised for use in making pickles, but I haven’t had a need for it using my recipe.

Why Should You Make Pickles at Home?

I will always advocate for making things homemade when you can. Especially when recipes like this are so quick and simple.

About an hour of hands on work will give you nine whole jars of pickles to enjoy. They can rest easy on the shelf long after the garden is finished giving you a bounty of cucumbers.

I’m not sure what the prices are like where you are, but my local grocery store sells a jar of pickles for almost $6!

Also, I can pick my own cucumbers and dill from my chemical free garden, thus ensuring an extremely fresh product for my family.

Even if you don’t have a garden, summer farmer’s markets are usually a great place to find pickling cucumbers, fresh herbs, and even garlic!

FAQ

How Long Does it Take Canning Jars to Seal?

Canning jars will usually seal after a few minutes of being removed from the canner. The quick temperature change will force the seal to close on the jars. You’ll often hear a very distinct *click* or *ping* from your jar lids: a very satisfying sound for a home canner!

Why are Pickles a Water Bath Canning Recipe?

These pickles are a safe recipe for water bath canning because of the acidity of the brine. If you are confused or interested in more information about the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning, I have a whole post on that here.