Aunt Betty's Pickles

John made pickles.

Refrigerator Pickles: Sliced Cucumber, Whole Cumber, and Jalapeño

He used Aunt Betty's recipe—not his Aunt Betty, but Aunt Betty from Bay City, Texas. We're told by John's coworker, who shared the recipe with him, that it's an old Czech recipe and a family favorite.

Half Gallon Jar of Aunt Betty's Pickles

Aunt Betty's Pickles are the refrigerator variety—no processing necessary. The cucumbers, dill, and jalapeños are from our garden.

John did all the pickling himself. He sliced and packed the cucumbers in jars along with dill, red chili peppers, garlic cloves, and onion. Then he added the boiling hot brine—water, extra strength white vinegar (9% acidity), pickling salt, alum, turmeric, and ground mustard.

Aunty Betty's Pickles Opened for the First Tasting

The cooled jars were placed in the fridge to sit and soak up all that briny goodness. It's been two days now, so let me open them up and see how they taste....yummmmm...they're crisp and crunchy, not too salty, with a nice garlic-dill flavor, and a bit of spicy heat.

Aunty Betty sure knows how to make pickles...and so does John!

If I ever meet Aunt Betty, I'll ask her if I can share the specifics of her recipe, but until then, this one is pretty close: Refrigerator Dill Pickles  (use half the vinegar, reduce the salt, add turmeric and ground mustard).