Ball's Traditional Bread and Butter Pickle question

[MNTaxi]

I bought this 2lbs package of Ball's Preserving & Pickling Salt ( thought it was something else) and it has a recipie on the back for Traditional Bread & Butter Pickles that I want to try. But I have a couple questions. . . .

1. 10 cups sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers
2. 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
3. 1/2 cup Ball's Simpe Creations Preserving & Pickling Salt
4. Cold Water
5. 3 cups vinegar, 5% acidity
6. 2 cups sugar
7. 2 Tbsp mustard seed
8. 1 tsp celery seed
9. 1 tsp ground turmeric

* How big is a medium Onion and what kinda onions do I need to use?
* What kinda vinegar do I use? Apple Cider or White?

I called their hot line but you can't get through. I got ahold of a message machine and left a message on my questions and the person that called me back must have just been their for moral support because she couldn't answer my questions.

 

[Andy M.]

The size of the onion is not critical. I use yellow onions for most things. You could use others as well.

Most pickling recipes cal for white vinegar.

 

[appleyard14]

a medium onion is about as big as a baseball and a large onion would be a softball
and if a recipe states just vinegar, then they usually mean generic white.
Hope that helps!

 

[Alix]

Medium onion is fist sized. And ditto on the white vinegar.

 

[appleyard14]

fist size is a baseball alix! haha the edmonton trappers balls are bigger compared to the major league balls! How you liking the weather in edmonton alix

 

[nanat]

I just put up pickled green tomatoes and the recipe I used is simular to your recipe. I used white onions and it called for cidar vinager. I know in this recipe you just pak the sliced onion down in the jars along with the cucumbers. Really no quanity recommended.

 

[kadesma]

MNTaxi,
I made this same recipe several times this season, I used a med vidalia in mine and loved the onion almost more than the cucumbers...This is rather tart even with the sugar, so be ready...I love the fact it's ready i n 24 hours and keep so well in the refrigerator..I just put everything into a tupperware container with good fitting lid. My oldest son ate almost the whole thing. As to the vinegar, my first batch I used several kinds of vinegar I had on hand, rice,white,cider the resulting batch was my favorite of the two.
Enjoy
kadesma

 

[Alix]

fist size is a baseball alix! haha the edmonton trappers balls are bigger compared to the major league balls! How you liking the weather in edmonton alix

The weather has been lovely lately appleyard. You able to get any time outside or do they have you slaving in the kitchen all day? And I know fist sized is baseball sized but lots of folks don't play ball so fist is an easier reference just in case. And that was the CFL motto last year, "Our balls are bigger" LOL.

 

[Wyogal]

I love zesty b&b pickles, so I add a dried chili pepper or two to each jar.

 

[MNTaxi]

I just got another recipie from my grandma and she doesn't rinse the Cucumber, Onion, and salt mixture after it is in the frig for 2 or 3 hours with ice on top. She just puts in in a culander and drains it well and procedes with the recipie.

All the other recipies call for rinsing the salt off and draining well than combining the rest of the stuff and boiling it.

All the recipies including hers, the ingrediance are the same.

Should I rinse the cucumber mixture?