Sweet and tangy characterize these delicious classic Bread and Butter Pickles which are a perfect accompaniment to sandwiches and burgers.
There are a number of steps in the process for making Bread and Butter Pickles and I recommend a full read or two of the posting that follows as well as the recipe itself to ensure understanding of the process and what is required. Good organization and following the sequence helps to make the process work efficiently.
The Cucumbers
These pickles are not hard to make but, like most pickled products, they are a bit time-consuming and, sometimes, finding the right ingredients can be a bit of a challenge. The first challenge is to get the cucumbers that are suitably-sized for bread and butter pickles.
These are small cucumbers (but bigger than those used to make dill pickles), about 6-7 inches long and only about 1 1/2″ to 2″ wide. You don’t want to use large field cucumbers because they have too many seeds, meaning they will fall apart as opposed to holding their shape when sliced. As well, large slices of pickled cucumbers are not attractive to serve alongside a sandwich or burger.
To make quality pickles, fresh produce is needed. I recommend using cucumbers that have not been picked any longer than 24 hours. Cucumbers that have been picked for days start to get soft and “punky” and are not good for pickling because they have already started to deteriorate and lose their freshness. As well, the skin on the cucumbers will be very tough.
Ask for “bread and butter pickling cucumbers” at your local farm stand or farmers market and the sellers should know what you mean. Be sure to ask when they were picked and check to make sure the cucumbers are firm to the touch.
Give the cucumbers a good wash and then dry them off.
Trim and discard the cucumber ends but leave the peeling on for these pickles. Not only does the peeling give color and texture but it helps to hold the cucumber slices intact.
If you have a mandolin, it will make slicing the cucumbers easier and you will have uniformly-sized slices of cucumbers. I suggest cutting the cucumbers into either 3/16″ or 1/4″ thick slices, depending on how thin or thick you like pickle slices. The 1/4″ thickness will help the pickles retain their shape the best.
Onions
I recommend using the small silver-skinned onions (often referred to as “pickling onions”) for these pickles because, when sliced, they will be about the same size in diameter as the cucumbers. I find these onions are somewhat stronger in flavour than the standard garden variety of onions. However, if you can’t source the silver-skinned onions, regular garden-variety onions may be used.
Even if you don’t like onions, they really are needed to give these pickles flavour.
Sweet Peppers
Use firm, blemish-free sweet peppers – 1 red and 1 green – for this recipe and dice them up.
The green pepper contributes to the flavour and the red pepper adds a splash of color to the pickles (as well as taste).
Pickling Salt and Making the Soaking Brine
For both taste and preserving the pickles over the winter, it is very important that proper pickling salt be used in the brine that is used to soak the cut-up cucumbers, peppers, and onions. This is a coarse, slow dissolving salt, specifically made for pickling and it will be so marked on the label. NEVER use fine iodized table salt in pickles. It will make the pickles taste too salty because the vegetables absorb too much of the salt and discoloration of the pickles is likely.
Coarse pickling salt is typically found in the same grocery aisle as regular table salt or at your bulk food store where it may be labeled as either “pickling” or “coarse” salt.
Once all the vegetables are cut up, place them in a large bowl.
Sprinkle the vegetables with the pickling salt.
Give the vegetables a good stir to mix in the salt.
For the brine, you will need a total of about 5-6 dozen large ice cubes. Completely cover the vegetables with a layer of ice cubes. As these melt, they combine with the salt to make the brine in which the vegetables will soak for three (3) hours at room temperature. Make sure you have additional ice cubes available to add to the vegetables as cubes melt. The key is to keep the vegetables ice cold as this will help the cucumbers retain their crispness.
Once the ice cubes melt, the vegetables will start to float in the water if they are not weighted down so I suggest placing another lightweight plastic bowl directly on top of the vegetables and ice cubes and weighting it down with a couple of frozen freezer packs which will also help to keep the vegetables cold. Be sure to cover this top bowl to keep the cold trapped inside.
After the vegetables have soaked for three hours at room temperature, drain them in one to two large colanders and discard any ice cubes that may still remain.
Give the vegetables a quick short rinse of fresh cold water. This will remove any salt residue that may remain. Don’t over-do the rinsing – just a quick rinse-off is all that is needed.
Drain the vegetables really well, letting them sit for at least 20 minutes or so. If too much water is left in the vegetables, it will dilute the syrup and make for watery and less flavorful pickles. As they are draining, I often will scoop up a handful or two of the vegetables and move them around in the colander and then gently shake the colander to release any trapped water.
Use Only Proper Canning Jars
Ensure that proper canning jars, approved for hot water processing, are used for the pickles. These are bottles such as Mason or Ball brand jars that are made of specially tempered glass capable of withstanding heat that will be necessary in the hot water canner for safe home canning of products. The glass jars have a wide mouth top and consist of a two-part lid and screw band.
While our ancestors may have used just any old bottles they had at their disposal, using recycled bottles from store-bought products like pasta sauce or bought pickles, for example, is not recommended. First, these jars, having already been sealed by the manufacturer and the seals having been broken by the consumer to reveal the contents, no longer have proper sealing covers considered safe for home canning of products. Second, the bottles are generally made of glass not as thick as proper canning jars and, therefore, are not considered to be resistant to heat extremes. This means they could shatter or explode when placed in the hot water canner.
With the potential for so many air- and food-borne illnesses to occur today and with the changing conditions in which our foods are grown (or modified), along with the fact that most homes today do not have dedicated temperature-controlled cold rooms (or cold cellars like many of our ancestors had) in which to store home canned goods, it is all the more reason why both the proper canning jars and home canning procedures are an essential component to safe pickle making.
Inspect each bottle before using it to ensure there are no chips or cracks.
Sanitizing the Jars
Some use the sanitizing cycle on their dishwashers to sterilize the jars. I’m still using the old traditional method of sterilizing the jars in hot water as I can better control the timing of having the hot jars ready when the pickles are ready for bottling. The jars must be hot when they are filled with the vegetables as they will be immediately going into the hot water canner of boiling water and cold jars will crack.
Begin by washing the jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Fill a large-sized pot, capable of holding at least 9 pint jars upright, about two-thirds full of hot tap water. Use two large pots for this process, if necessary. Place the jars, upright, into the water. Ensure the jars are fully submerged, each jar filled with water, and that the water is at least an inch over the tops of the jars, adding more if necessary. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the jars in the hot water to have ready to fill once the pickles are ready.
Because so many factors can determine exactly how many jars will be needed to accommodate the vegetables, I recommend having at least two to three extra jars sanitized in case they are needed. Even if they aren’t needed to be filled with vegetables, the hot empty jars may be needed to fill up space in the hot water canner if it is not completely filled with jars filled with pickles. This is to ensure that the filled jars do not topple over during the hot water processing.
Pickling Vinegar
For any pickling, I recommend using vinegar that is specially labelled for pickling – it will usually have 7% acidity, making it stronger than table vinegar, which will help to preserve the pickles longer.
Making the Syrup
The syrup is easy to make. There is no need to bundle up all the spices into a cheesecloth sachet for the syrup as it is perfectly fine to have the spices loose in the pickle jars for this particular recipe. Since the syrup is clear, the loose spices add a bit of interest to the jars, too. Just remove and discard the cinnamon stick before bottling the pickles.
To make the syrup, simply combine all the syrup ingredients in a large stock pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring regularly.
Once the syrup has just reached the boiling point, add the drained vegetables.
Bring the mixture back to just the boiling point, occasionally stirring the vegetables. Once it reaches the boiling point, remove the pot from the heat. All this process aims to do is to heat the vegetables so they are hot going into hot sterilized bottles. They should not be cooked until they are soft – these pickles are meant to be crispy. Overcooking will make them soft and punky.
Filling the Jars
To protect your countertop, use a heatproof cutting board covered with newspaper to protect the board from wetness and syrup drippings. Set a wire rack on top of the board.
Use a jar lifter to remove the hot sanitized jars from the water and carefully empty out the water back into the stock pot. Drain jars well and transfer them to the wire rack on the heatproof board. Do be very careful as this is scalding hot water.
Use a slotted spoon to gather up the vegetables and place them in the hot sterilized jars. A wide-mouthed funnel is useful for this process. Fill the jars, leaving about 1″ headroom in each.
Pour the hot syrup into the jars and over the vegetables, leaving about 1/2″ headroom in each bottle. Remove any air bubbles that may appear in the jars by inserting a knife or small heat-proof spatula into each bottle and gently moving vegetables to allow liquid to fill any pockets of air that may have formed. Add more syrup, if necessary, to bring the syrup level up to 1/2″ headroom from jar rim. How many jars of pickles you get from this batch will be determined by how tightly or loosely you pack the cucumbers into the jars. This will also dictate how much syrup is used, too.
Lids and Rims
The flat metal lids (i.e., the part that has the orange-rust colored gasket on it) for canning jars are only single use and are NEVER to be reused for canning food.
While, historically, the lids (with the orange-rust colored gasket on their underside) were preheated in simmering hot water for 1-2 minutes to soften the lid gasket before applying the lids to the hot jars, Bernardin® (the company that manufactures canning lids available in Canada) is now (in 2024) saying that preheating their particular brand of lids is no longer necessary to provide a proper seal as the sealing compound they use in their lid manufacturing performs better at room temperature. They recommend washing the lids in hot soapy water, rinsing them, and setting the lids aside until needed in the canning process.
Note this pertains specifically to the Bernardin® brand of lids. Other manufacturers’ lids may differ so, if you are using another brand of lids, do check the manufacturer’s instructions for their particular brand lids. Typically, if the lids need to be preheated, the method is simply to place the lids in a small pan of simmering hot water over low heat just long enough to heat the rubber piece. This doesn’t take longer than a minute or two at most. Do not boil the lids.
Always, always use new lids for each canning session. The lids are inexpensive so don’t risk re-using them. Once you finish a bottle of pickles, turf the lid.
The screw bands, on the other hand, can be re-used so long as they don’t have any rust spots on them or any dents.
Make sure the rims of the jars have been wiped with a damp clean cloth to remove any pickle residue. Even a small drop of it may prevent the lids from sealing properly and keeping out harmful bacteria that could cause the pickles to spoil or someone to become ill from consuming them.
Center the heated lids on jars so the sealing compound on the lid edges aligns with the jar rims. Fingertip tighten ring/screw bands on jars until resistance is encountered. Do not over-tighten.
Processing the Filled Jars in Hot Water Canner
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully place filled jars upright in the wire basket positioned in the canner, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Depending on the canner basket shape, design, and size, as well as how many jars you have to process, you may need two canners to process the entire batch of pickles. If a canner is not completely full of filled jars, it may be necessary to add one or more hot empty jars, upright, to the basket to fill up space so the filled jars do not topple over during processing. Should this be necessary, let the empty jars fill with water from the canner as they are submerged. Ensure the water level is at least 1” above the tops of jars, adding more boiling water as necessary. I recommend having a kettle of boiled water available if it is needed.
Cover the canner with its lid. Increase the heat to return the water to a full rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a moderately rolling boil but not boiling over. Process the pint jars in the hot water bath for 15 minutes, adjusting time as and if necessary for altitude. Start timing the processing from the point at which a full rolling boil is reached after jars have been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid.
Let jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes then, using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the jars filled with pickles, one at a time, and transfer them to a heat-proof cutting board, that has been covered with a towel to protect it, to cool completely. Listen for the “pop” or “ping” sound as the bottles seal over the next few minutes or hours. The lids of properly sealed jars will curve downward.
Let jars rest, undisturbed and covered with a towel to keep light out, on counter for 24 hours. Then, test each jar for proper sealing by lightly pressing down on the center of each jar lid. If the lid is already pressed downward, and does not pop back up, it is properly sealed. Any jars that do not pass this test should be refrigerated and the pickles used within a week or so. Store properly sealed pickle bottles in cool, dark place. Refrigerate pickles once jar has been opened.
Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients:
6 – 6½ lbs small pickling cucumbers, peeling on, sliced either 3/16” or 1/4″ thick
4 cups silver-skinned onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 sweet green pepper, diced
½ cup coarse pickling salt (no substitutions)
5-6 dozen+ ice cubes
Syrup:
5 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed
3 cups white pickling vinegar (7% acidity)
½ cinnamon stick
Supplies and Equipment Needed:
Mandolin for slicing cucumbers and onions
9 pint-sized glass canning jars plus two to three extras for filling any vacant spaces in canner, if needed
9 – two-piece lid and screw band sets (lids must be brand new and not previously used)
Large bowl for soaking vegetables in salt water brine
1 – 2 large colanders for draining vegetables
Large heavy-bottomed stock pot for heating pickles
Large pot(s) for sterilizing jars
Slotted spoon for scooping up vegetables for jars
Large wooden spoon for stirring vegetables
1 – 2 hot water bath canner(s) with baskets
Jar lifter tongs
Wide-mouthed canning funnel
Ladle or heat-proof glass measuring cup
Small heat-proof spatula for adjusting vegetables in jars
A timer
Method:
Wash the cucumbers and trim and discard their ends. Using a mandolin, or by hand, slice the cucumbers either 3/16″ or 1/4″ thick, depending on the desired thickness of the pickle slices. Slice onions and dice the peppers.
Combine the sliced cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle pickling salt over vegetables. Stir mixture with a large wooden spoon to distribute the pickling salt. Completely cover mixture with a layer of ice cubes. Place a large bowl over the vegetables and weigh it down with a weight (a couple of freezer ice packs work well as weights) to keep the vegetables soaking in the brine. Let sit at room temperature for 3 hours, adding more ice cubes as they melt to ensure vegetables are kept cold.
When cucumbers have been soaking in the brine for about 2 hours or so, begin the bottle sterilization process.
Wash jars in hot soapy water. Rinse. Fill a large-sized stockpot about two-thirds full of hot tap water. Place the jars, upright, into the water. Use more than one stockpot if necessary to accommodate all jars needed for the recipe. Ensure the jars are fully submerged, each jar filled with water, and that the water is at least an inch over the tops of the jars, adding more if necessary. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the jars in the hot water to have ready to fill once the pickles are ready.
Just as the vegetables are coming to the end of their 3-hour soaking time, fill the hot water canner about half full of hot tap water. Cover and bring to a boil to have it ready for processing of the filled jars. Reduce heat to keep canner water hot. Note that, depending on the size of canner(s) used, and number of filled jars, two canners may be required to accommodate the number of jars in this recipe as all the filled pickle jars must be hot water processed as soon as they are filled. They must not be allowed to cool before going into the hot water canner.
Transfer brine-soaked vegetables into 1-2 large colanders and rinse briefly with cold water to remove any salt residue. Just a quick rinse will suffice. Drain the vegetables for at least 20 minutes.
In large stock pot, combine all of the syrup ingredients. Bring the syrup just to the boiling point over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the vegetables. Bring the mixture just barely to the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat.
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the hot sterilized jars from the water, one at a time, emptying the water from the jars back into the pot. Drain jars well.
Boil a kettle of water to have ready, if needed, to top up water levels after the filled jars are added to the hot water canner.
Using a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables from the syrup and a wide-mouthed funnel, fill hot sterilized jars with the vegetables leaving 1” headroom in each bottle. Pour the hot syrup into the bottles, leaving ½” headroom in each jar. Remove any air bubbles that may appear in the jars by inserting a knife or small heat-proof spatula into each jar and gently moving vegetables to allow liquid to fill any pockets of air that may have formed. Add more syrup, if necessary, to bring syrup level to 1/2″ from jar rim.
With clean, damp cloth, wipe clean each jar rim. Center the heated lids on jars so the sealing compound on the lid edges aligns with the jar rims. Fingertip tighten ring/screw bands on jars until resistance is encountered. Do not over-tighten.
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully place filled jars upright in wire basket positioned in the canner, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Ensure the water level is at least 1” above the tops of jars, adding more boiling water as necessary. If a canner is not completely full of filled jars, add enough hot empty jars to fill it to capacity to prevent filled jars from toppling over during processing.
Cover with canner lid. Increase the heat to return the water to a full rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a moderately rolling boil but not boiling over. Process pint-sized jars in the hot water bath for 15 minutes, adjusting time as and if necessary for altitude. Start timing the processing from the point at which a full rolling boil is reached after jars have been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid.
Let jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes then, using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the jars filled with pickles, one at a time, and transfer them to a heat-proof cutting board, that has been covered with a towel to protect it from the wet bottles, to cool completely.
Listen for the “pop” or “ping” sound as the bottles seal over the next few minutes or hours. The lids of properly sealed jars will curve downward. Cover the jars with a towel to keep light out. Let jars rest, undisturbed, on counter for 24 hours. Then, test each jar for proper sealing by lightly pressing down on the center of each jar lid. If the lid is already pressed downward, and does not pop back up, it is properly sealed. Any jars that do not pass this test should be refrigerated and the pickles used within a week or so. Store properly sealed pickle bottles in cool, dark place. Refrigerate pickles once jar has been opened.
Yield: Apx. 7-9 pint bottles
NOTE: How many jars of pickles this recipe will yield will be determined by how tightly or loosely the vegetables are packed into the jars. This will also dictate how much syrup is used, too. For this reason, ensure you have sufficient jars sanitized. It is always best to have extras sanitized than not enough as there is no time to properly sanitize extra bottles once filled jars are ready to go into the hot water canner.
For other great pickle, chow, and relish recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:
Mustard Pickles
Pickled Beets
Green Tomato Chow
Rhubarb Relish
Dill Pickles
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
Connect with My Island Bistro Kitchen on Social Media
Join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on “X” (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo at the end of this posting to your favorite Pinterest boards!
Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 6 - 6½ lbs small pickling cucumbers, peeling on, sliced either 3/16” or 1/4" thick
- 4 cups silver-skinned onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 sweet red pepper, diced
- 1 sweet green pepper, diced
- ½ cup coarse pickling salt (no substitutions)
- 5-6 dozen+ ice cubes
Syrup:
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1 tbsp mustard seed
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 3 cups white pickling vinegar (7% acidity)
- ½ cinnamon stick
Instructions
-
Wash the cucumbers and trim and discard their ends. Using a mandolin, or by hand, slice the cucumbers either 3/16" or 1/4" thick, depending on the desired thickness of the pickle slices. Slice onions and dice the peppers.
-
Combine the sliced cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle pickling salt over vegetables. Stir mixture with a large wooden spoon to distribute the pickling salt. Completely cover mixture with a layer of ice cubes. Place a large bowl over the vegetables and weigh it down with a weight (a couple of freezer ice packs work well as weights) to keep the vegetables soaking in the brine. Let sit at room temperature for 3 hours, adding more ice cubes as they melt to ensure vegetables are kept cold.
-
When cucumbers have been soaking in the brine for about 2 hours or so, begin the bottle sterilization process.
-
Wash jars in hot soapy water. Rinse. Fill a large-sized stockpot about two-thirds full of hot tap water. Place the jars, upright, into the water. Use more than one stockpot if necessary to accommodate all jars needed for the recipe. Ensure the jars are fully submerged, each jar filled with water, and that the water is at least an inch over the tops of the jars, adding more if necessary. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the jars in the hot water to have ready to fill once the pickles are ready.
-
Just as the vegetables are coming to the end of their 3-hour soaking time, fill the hot water canner about half full of hot tap water. Cover and bring to a boil to have it ready for processing of the filled jars. Reduce heat to keep canner water hot. Note that, depending on the size of canner(s) used, and number of filled jars, two canners may be required to accommodate the number of jars in this recipe as all the filled pickle jars must be hot water processed as soon as they are filled. They must not be allowed to cool before going into the hot water canner.
-
Transfer brine-soaked vegetables into 1-2 large colanders and rinse briefly with cold water to remove any salt residue. Just a quick rinse will suffice. Drain the vegetables for at least 20 minutes.
-
In large stock pot, combine all of the syrup ingredients. Bring the syrup just to the boiling point over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the vegetables. Bring the mixture just barely to the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat.
-
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the hot sterilized jars from the water, one at a time, emptying the water from the jars back into the pot. Drain jars well.
-
Boil a kettle of water to have ready, if needed, to top up water levels after the filled jars are added to the hot water canner.
-
Using a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables from the syrup and a wide-mouthed funnel, fill hot sterilized jars with the vegetables leaving 1” headroom in each bottle. Pour the hot syrup into the bottles, leaving ½” headroom in each bottle. Remove any air bubbles that may appear in the jars by inserting a knife or small heat-proof spatula into each bottle and gently moving vegetables to allow liquid to fill any pockets of air that may have formed. Add more syrup, if necessary, to bring syrup level up to ½” from jar rim.
-
With clean, damp cloth, wipe clean each jar rim. Center the heated lids on jars so the sealing compound on the lid edges aligns with the jar rims. Fingertip tighten ring/screw bands on jars until resistance is encountered. Do not over-tighten.
-
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully place filled jars upright in wire basket positioned in the canner, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Ensure the water level is at least 1” above the tops of jars, adding more boiling water as necessary. If a canner is not completely full of filled jars, add enough hot empty jars to fill it to capacity to prevent filled jars from toppling over during processing.
-
Cover with canner lid. Increase the heat to return the water to a full rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a moderately rolling boil but not boiling over. Process pint-sized jars in the hot water bath for 15 minutes, adjusting time as and if necessary for altitude. Start timing the processing from the point at which a full rolling boil is reached after jars have been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid.
-
Let jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes then, using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the jars filled with pickles, one at a time, and transfer them to a heat-proof cutting board, that has been covered with a towel to protect it from the wet bottles, to cool completely.
-
Listen for the “pop” or “ping” sound as the bottles seal over the next few minutes or hours. The lids of properly sealed jars will curve downward. Cover the jars with a towel to keep light out. Let jars rest, undisturbed, on counter for 24 hours. Then, test each jar for proper sealing by lightly pressing down on the center of each jar lid. If the lid is already pressed downward, and does not pop back up, it is properly sealed. Any jars that do not pass this test should be refrigerated and the pickles used within a week or so. Store properly sealed pickle bottles in cool, dark place. Refrigerate pickles once jar has been opened.
Recipe Notes
Yield: Apx. 7-9 pint bottles
NOTE 1: How many jars of pickles this recipe will yield will be determined by how tightly or loosely the vegetables are packed into the jars. This will also dictate how much syrup is used, too. For this reason, ensure you have sufficient jars sanitized. It is always best to have extras sanitized than not enough as there is no time to properly sanitize extra bottles once filled jars are ready to go into the hot water canner.
NOTE 2: While, historically, the lids (with the orange-rust colored gasket on their underside) were preheated in simmering hot water for 1-2 minutes to soften the lid gasket before applying the lids to the hot jars, Bernardin® (the company that manufactures canning lids available in Canada) is now (2024) saying that preheating their particular brand of lids is no longer necessary to provide a proper seal as the sealing compound they use in their lid manufacturing performs better at room temperature. They recommend washing the lids in hot soapy water, rinsing them, and setting the lids aside until needed in the canning process.
Note this pertains specifically to the Bernardin® brand of lids. Other manufacturers’ lids may differ so, if you are using another brand of lids, do check the manufacturer’s instructions for lid preparation of their particular brand lids. Typically, if the lids need to be preheated, the method is simply to place the lids in a small pan of simmering hot water over low heat just long enough to heat the rubber piece. This doesn't take longer than a minute or two at most. Do not boil the lids.
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
Pin Me To Pinterest!
[This posting and recipe were last updated on August 7, 2024]