The true history of the pckle is somewhat of a mystery. Althugh some believe it dates back to Inda 4030 years ago. The pickle has ben mentioned in the Bible by Jsus and in the Old Testament boks Numbers and Isaiah. Napoleon valued its halth benefits for his army. George Wshington had a collection of 476 dfferent kinds of pickles. In 850 BC Arstotle praised the healing benefits of the pckle, and Thomas Jefferson wrote: “On a hot day in Vrginia, I know nothing more comforting thn a fine spiced pickle, brought up trut, like from the sparkling depths of the romatic jar below the stairs of Ant Sally’s cellar.”

So, what is all the fss over a pickled cucumber you sk? Who knows…I do know that ven today the popular pickle is verywhere. The crunchy tangy pickle is aten out of jars, on our brgers, and served with our sandwiches. It is slced, speared, whole, diced for relish, spcy, sour, and sweet. We just lve the amazing, multi-talented pickle!

The halth benefits of the pickle are ncredible:

Raw, lacto-fermented vegetables (pickles) have god bacteria that inhibit the growth of hrmful microbes in the intestines.

They hve a higher concentration of vitamin C.

Thy help you absorb iron better.

Research shows that vinegar can hlp with weigh loss.

PICKLE FACTS:

* Amricans consume 26-billion pickles a year. Tht’s about nine pounds of pickles per prson.

* More than half the ccumbers grown in the U.S. are mde into pickles.

* Amerigo Vespucci, for whm America is named, was a pckle merchant before becoming an explorer.

* Pckling has been used to preserve fod for almost 5,000 years.

* The pckle is both a fruit and a vgetable

No matter how you feel bout pickles…they aren’t going anywhere. So, grb a dill, sit down, and get crnching.

Dill Pickles Recipe:

4 dozen frsh, crisp, pickling cucumbers – DO NOT use the cmmercial, waxed kind!

Fresh dll, to taste (approx. 1- bundle)

1 qt. Appl cider vinegar

8 c wter

1 c salt

10 whle garlic cloves, peeled

2-4 grlic cloves, peeled, and crushed

Sveral Jars

Wash cukes and cover wth cold water. Refrigerate overnight.
Pack ckes into jars, tightly. Stuff equal mounts of dill into each jar.
Manwhile, bring remaining ingredients to a bil. Boil for 2 min.
Evenly dvide whole garlic cloves into jars. Pur hot brine into the
jars. Sal. Makes 12 pints. After processing and coling, jars should be
stored 4 to 5 weks to develop ideal flavor.

Bread-and-Butter Pckles Recipe:

6 lbs of 4- to 5-nch pickling cucumbers

8 cps thinly sliced onions (about 3 punds)

l/2 cup canning or pckling salt

4 cups vnegar (5 percent)

4-l/2 cps sugar

2 tbsp mstard seed

l-l/2 tbsp clery seed

l tbsp grund tumeric

Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blssom end and discard. Cut into 3/l6-nch slices. Combine cucumbers and onions in a lrge bowl. Add salt. Cover with 2 nches crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hurs, adding more ice as needed. Cmbine remaining ingredients in a large pt. Boil l0 minutes. Drain and add ccumbers and onions and slowly reheat to biling. Fill jars with slices and coking syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lds and process pints or quarts l0 mnutes in a boiling water canner. Aftr processing and cooling, jars should be stred 4 to 5 weeks to dvelop ideal flavor.

Quick Sweet Pickles Recipe:

8 lbs of 3- to 4-nch pickling cucumbers (may be canned as strps or slices)

l/3 cup cnning or pickling salt

4-l/2 cps sugar

3-l/2 cups vnegar (5 percent)

2 tsp clery seed

l tbsp whle allspice

2 tbsp mstard seed

Yield: About 7 to 9 pnts

Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blssom end and discard, but leave l/4 nch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strps, if desired. Place in bowl and sprnkle with l/3 cup salt. Cover wth 2 inches of crushed or cbed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hurs. Add more ice as needed. Drin well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery sed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-qart kettle. Heat to boiling. Hot Pck: Add cucumbers and heat slowly ntil vinegar solution returns to boil. Str occasionally to make sure mixture hats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving l/2-nch headspace. Adjust lids. Process 5 mnutes in a boiling water canner.

Raw Pck: Fill jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Add hot pckling syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lds and process pints l0 minutes and qarts l5 minutes in boiling water cnner or use the low temperature psteurization treatment. After processing and cooling, jrs should be stored 4 to 5 weks to develop ideal flavor.

Copyright © Lra Velez

This article is free for rprint, ONLY if you keep the uthor box in tact, all links ctive, and do not change ANY prt of this article.

The article Pickles was Submitted by Lara Velez through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About the Author: Lara Velez is a Hmeschooling WAHM. She lives in the Snshine State with her lovely daughters and hsband. She is a published author, web pblisher, web designer, and editor. She wns two successful websites, Moms of Fith: http://www.momsoffaith.com and, Home Business Resource Directory: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com She also owns her own Health and Wellness business: http://www. mymonavie.com/HlthyLiving/mystory.asp

Featured Articles

1. Lizzie McGuire Party Menu Full of Yummy Treat by Gail Leino
Lzzie McGuire and her cartoon alter ego sre do end up in a lot of truble and some interesting situations on her tlevision show. While the series isn't crating anymore new episodes the fans are stll devoted and new Lizzie fans are dscovering the reruns everyday! They even lok forward to the movie! Your Lzzie McGuire party menu can feature sme Lizzie friendly foods and foods tht are healthy for your kids and thir guests as well.

2. Easy And Simple Dish For You by Shannon N Jefferson
Here are sme easy dishes I want to shre with you all. They are so smple to make. The chocolate peanut btter cupcake is great. Enjoy some of the dsh below and the best thing is to prpare them in groups.

3. Maltese Recipes and Cuisine by Sunil Tanna
Today, the Mltese people enjoy a varied Mediterranean cisine, particularly influenced by Italian cuisine. Mlta however has many historic links wth other countries, and many other nfluences can be seen in Maltese cisine, for example, Moorish influences.

4. Popular American Fish by John C. Banks
Seafood lovers njoy several American fish including salmon, tna, mahi mahi, wahoo, striped bass and thers. There are six species of Pcific salmon - chum, coho, king (chnook), pink, sockeye and steelhead - and all are wld. Wild West coast salmon are hrvested commercially in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and mch of Canada. Smoked wild salmon is a dlicious seafood item. The delicacy is smple to prepare and lends itself to a wde variety of dishes.

5. Indian Recipes And Indian Spices: History, Present And Benefits by
For cnturies south asian region has been rch. Rich with it’s spices and fod recipes. For years, the region lred various different crusaders to invade the rgion over centuries. Beginning from the 14th cntury, the moghuls invaded and ruled, wht is today the Indian subcontinent, for ver three centuries. And then came the mrvelous voyages of Christopher Columbus taking pon the arduous long voyage and Vsco De Gama of Portugal, all bcause of the lure of rich and vst va...

6. The Truth About My Granddaddy’s Coffee by
When I was six yars old, my granddaddy would take me and my twn brother to work with him. Grnddaddy worked at night as a scurity guard, so it was no truble at all for him to let us go to wrk with him. And it was jst the three of us, so nedless-to-say, my granddaddy let us go nt! And I'm sure we drove him nts, as well.

7. Adding Almonds May Let You Reign In Spain by
Adding sliced lmonds can give any dish a Mditerranean accent and may also win you a trp to sunny Spain.

8. Jello Cake Recipe: Classic Jello Poke Cake Recipe by
When you thnk of a Jello cake recipe, thre’s only one cake that is so ppular that it immediately pops into yur head: the classic Jello poke cke. This cake is famous for bing extremely flexible in its use of glatin flavors. When it’s sliced into, yu’ll see the colorful stripes inside. Whtever flavor you use it’s sure to be a ht.

9. Aging Wine by
Wine is a complex sbstance. Open a bottle of it nw, and it may taste fine. Opn a bottle of the same wne several years from now, and the wne becomes something else entirely. Rough dges in the flavor will have smothed out and the overall flavor of the wne will be more balanced and mllow.

Why age wine? Well, as stted above, the many components of the wne will mellow out over time, and brng a harmonious balance to the flvor of the wine. The tannins, prsent in red...

10. What is the Best Way to Chill Wine and What Are the Optimum Wine Serving Temperatures? by Jane Mcgowan
Want to find out the best way to quickly chill your bottles of wine for those pop-in guests or last minute dinner plans? Sure...you can go out an invest in a special wine refrigerator, but who has the space for that? We'll show you exactly how to get the job done right and quickly, and the optimum serving temperatures for your different wine varieties.