Dilled Carrots

The canning marathon continues as I try to put up an abundance of veggies from my friends garden. This morning I decided to abandon the tomatillos for the day so that I could do the carrots. Our cold room is not so cold after a sudden short-lived heat wave just sufficient enough to heat up my storage room. So, putting up the carrots before they go limp is crucial. Carrots it is!

I’ve spent the better part of 12 hours washing, trimming, and packing these little gems lovingly into their jars. I’m tired but the thought of enjoying a bowl of these during Dexter in the months to come kept me going. I still have at least 2 more batches to go but I’ve done 4 rounds today. And, with the bulk of it behind me I am convinced I can quit for the night.

RECIPE FOR DILLED CARROTS (from Bernardin):

6 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

1/2 cup pickling or canning salt

7 cloves of garlic

14 heads of fresh dill or 1/2 tsp of dill seed per jar

3 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)

5 lbs carrots, ends removed and peeled (I use fresh garden carrots and scrub them well rather than peeling)

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, water and salt. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve salt. Place 1/2 to 1 clove of garlic, 1 head of dill and 1/2 tsp of hot pepper flakes, if using, in each hot jar. Pack carrots into hot jars to within a generous 1/2″ of top of jar. top with second head of dill. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover carrots, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, label and store.

Put up Total:

27 x 500mL wide mouth mason jars