Pickling & Canning Salt

Fine-ground pure salt for recipes that call for pickling or canning salt.

A clear brine with a simple ingredient list

Mrs. Wages Pickling & Canning Salt is fine-ground salt made for preserving food. It is high-purity sodium chloride without iodine or other additives, and produces a sparkling clear brine. That matters when a recipe calls for a preserving salt and a clean-looking liquid is part of the finished jar. The ingredient list is short: salt.

Use the salt named in the recipe

Pickling salt is also called canning or preserving salt. Read the tested recipe before measuring, because salt type and amount are part of the formula. A swap can change how much salt goes into a batch when the measure is by volume. Keep the package with the recipe rather than treating the product as a general-purpose substitute for every salt in the kitchen.

A pantry staple for preserving

The fine grains dissolve readily into liquid, which makes this salt useful in brines and pickling mixtures. It can also be used in preserving recipes that call for canning salt. For ordinary table use, cooks may prefer a different grain size or a salt with iodine. Keep a clean dry measure for the bag, and close it promptly after scooping so kitchen steam does not reach the remaining salt.

Keep batch notes clear

When several jars or recipes are underway, label the recipe and finished batch together. This is especially useful when one household uses different salts for cooking and preserving. The ingredient is simple, but the recipe still determines when it is added and how it is dissolved. Store the bag with canning supplies so it is available when a tested pickle, relish or brine calls for pickling salt. The bag is a useful pantry choice for cooks who want a simple salt ingredient in a preserving recipe. Fine grains disperse through a liquid more readily than coarse crystals, which helps create an even brine. A clear brine can make the contents easier to see after storage. Keep this preserving salt separate from seasoning blends so the recipe’s salt remains easy to measure.

KOSHER DILL PICKLES

Makes 8 Quarts

YOU WILL NEED

• 9 lbs of pickling cucumbers (about 50- 3 to 4-inches)
• 8 cups of water
• 4 cups Mrs. Wages® White Distilled Vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 cup Mrs. Wages® Pickling & Canning Salt
• 8 heads fresh dill
• 16-24 garlic cloves
• 8 small red or green chile peppers (optional)

DIRECTIONS

PREPARE and PROCESS home canning jars and lids according to manufacturer’s instructions for sterilized jars. Keep jars hot.

WASH cucumbers and drain. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard. Leave cucumbers whole or cut into spears.

COMBINE water, Mrs. Wages® White Distilled Vinegar,and Mrs. Wages® Pickling & Canning Salt in a large non-reactive saucepan. Do not use aluminum. Bring to boil. Remove syrup from heat.

PACK cucumbers tightly into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. In each jar add 1 head fresh dill, 2-3 garlic cloves, and 1 small chile pepper. Evenly divide hot pickling syrup among the packed jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Unused brine may be stored in a non-reactive container up to 1 week in refrigerator. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and cap each jar as it is filled.

PROCESS pints 10 minutes*, quarts 15 minutes*, in a boiling water bath canner. Remove canner from heat, remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes in canner. Remove jars. Let jars sit undisturbed to cool at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Test jars for airtight seals according to manufacturer’s directions. If jars do not completely seal, refrigerate and consume within 1 week.

Product is ready to eat after 24 hours. Before serving, chill to enhance flavor and crispness. Store properly processed shelf-stable product in a cool place, and use within 1 year. For plain dills, leave out the garlic.

*Processing time listed is for altitudes less than 1000 feet. At Altitudes of 1000 feet or more, increase processing time 1 minute for each 1000 feet of altitude.