Comments on: Cinnamon Cucumber Pickles

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:40:56 +0000

Hey Nikki,
How did they turn out? It is a LONG process, isn’t it? But they sure earn the raves…

I hope your family and friends love this edible slice of your childhood!

Blessings,
Mary

By: Nikki

Nikki — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:50:59 +0000

I’m on day 2 and they are an hour into simmering! My mom used to make these when I was young and found they recipe in her beautiful penmanship after she passed away two years ago. I can’t wait and have my fingers crossed they will be as good as I remembered! I have all the girls at my office wanting to try them and I want my husband and daughter to sample a bite of my “childhood”! Thanks for the waterbath explanation I was getting ready to ask myself. I made mine into skiiny spears- I think the next batch will be the circles though! I’ll let you know as my fingers stay crossed!

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:01:54 +0000

Hi Shirley, I don’t think it matters which vinegar you use…I’m pretty sure I used white though. HTHs!

By: shirley kleve

shirley kleve — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:36:56 +0000

hi Im going to make the cinnamon cucumber pickles for the first time, do I use white or dark vinegar? please repley ksakleve@gctel.net thank you

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:47:50 +0000

Hi Laura,
I’m at a loss too, as to what could have gone wrong. Did you use the large over-ripe cucumbers? The lime soak is what makes them crunchy. I can’t imagine why you would have only gotten 3 pints! I got over 5 quarts. I’m so sorry…I know it’s a ton of steps to have it all for nothing. I do know that mine turned out great, even w/simmering for 2 hours. You did see my tip that 7 lbs of cucumbers was roughly equivalent to a 14 lb grocery sack full of large cukes? Once they are peeled/cored, they lose half their weight.

Wish I had more ideas for you…let me know if you figure out what happened! They sure are delicious when they turn out!

Mary

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:47:05 +0000

Whew, Ok…I tried these and some where I ran a muck…I only got three pints of pickles and I had tons of syrup left. In addition, the pickles/cucumbers were mushy, kind of like jellied, if you will. WHAT DID I DO WRONG???? It seemed that simmering them for two hours was way too much and perhaps why they were mushy…but every recipe I’ve read says to simmer them for 2 hours. ANY HELP and/or suggestions would be helful. We love these little devils and I’d sure like to be able to master this recipe. Thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:35:17 +0000

Oh MAN! I can’t imagine, but this is definitely one of those stories that you can only grit your teeth at “during” and hopefully laugh at “later”! Good night! I’m so sorry the hubby and daughter won’t give them a try! They are SOOOO good, even though they sound like they’d be too weird.

What a story–sorry to say, very hilarious except when I think about it happening to ME! I’m glad you’re still willing to visit the site, lol! Better luck next time, if there will be a next time!

I’m still getting a lot of cukes from the garden, and even though my pickling process went smoothly (no black marshmallow/basement oven experiences) I’m not excited about doing it all over again. I wish I knew why they had to soak so long?

Anyway, glad you survived the cinnamon cuke experience!

By: karmelk

karmelk — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:43:37 +0000

Hi Mary,
I wanted to get back to you about these pickles. Golly, it got complicated, and none of that was the fault of your directions. As usual, life interfered. A husband who couldn’t stand the smell of the vinegar, and schedule that couldn’t wait for the syrup to boil. So my brilliant mind said, I’ll boil this in the basement oven. Which did well for the 2 hours of cooking the pickles. So I decided to do it again for boiling the syrup. But I left the oven too high and was gone too long and when I returned the house smelled like marshmallows that had been roasted to a crisp! The turkey roaster I used may never been the same and boy do I wish my extra oven was a self cleaning. By then it was 11pm and the pickles had sat a few days already and needed their syrup. No more red hots! The local all night liquor store had atomic cinnamon pill shaped candies. The clerk assured me they were just like red hots, she ate them all the time. Not true, after I fished the gummy-candy-like pills out of a mixture that had boiled long enough to melt silver, I added some red food color and cinnamon and called the syrup good. And actually it does taste good. Whatever was on the coating of those atomic things had a good flavor, I guess. I did wonder why the pickles had to sit so long in the lime water. They seem to crisp up right away. And why add alum, when it too is a crisping agent?
It was an adventure, mostly of my own making. I wish I’d taken photos of the monster black marshmallow in the oven! The jury is still out on these pickles, since my husband and daughter have both declined to try them. I tried and liked them. I got 11 pints and 2 quarts and yes extra syrup is a must. The larger extended family will be getting an interesting gift this Christmas!
P.S. I used cider vinegar too, but I’m sure it didn’t matter!

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:57:57 +0000

Hi there!
I used apple cider vinegar, actually, but as the recipe didn’t say, I doubt it matters much. I’ve read in my Stocking Up book that they both have the right level of acidity, etc.

So glad you found us, and yes, this recipe is perfect for large, over-ripe cukes!

Did you see I uploaded pictures? So glad for your comment, it was a good reminder that I hadn’t done that yet!

I ended up getting 5 quarts and two pints out of this recipe, and I did make a little extra syrup to go the distance. Like another half a recipe.

By: KarmelK

KarmelK — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:36:24 +0000

Do you use white of cider vinegar?
I’m starting the recipe today so I have a day or so til I need to add the vinegar. I went overseas for my daughter’s wedding for 3 weeks and when I got back I had loads of overripe cukes. Thanks, Mary, for giving me a way not to throw them away!