I thought it might help if you had the pickled okra recipe to advise me...
I packed the washed okra, one garlic clove, dill seed and one jalepeno in a pint jar. Then I boiled 1 cup water, 1/4c salt, and 1 qt vinegar. Once it boiled, I simmered it for 5min and then poured it over the top of the okra. I sealed the jars immediately and all of them sealed great. That was Thurs night and they have been sitting on the counter ever since. Tonight is Saturday. Maybe they can be saved???

I've located both of my pickled okra recipes ... both of them are similar to yours except they call for processing for 10 minute (sea level to 1,000ft) in a boiling water bath. At this point, you have several options
1. Crank up the boiling water bath and process the jars for 10 minutes and wait for someone to tell you that this is okay. (Heat the water, put the jars in the pot and start timing after the pot boils)
2. Put them in the refrigerator and wait for a response from someone to advise you
3. Leave them on the counter and wait for someone to advise you.
I'd choose door number 1 if they were my okra pickles.

Now, tell me about those "Mock Apple Rings"

oh, yes, I'm not sure if you should put on fresh jar lids if you do reprocess the pickles ... sorry, I can't be more definite, but this is a low acid vegetable and I do not want to tell you anything wrong

kahlanne... linda lou is THE authority here on Harvest Forum. I'm glad she was the one who stepped in. Sorry about your okra.

Here is the recipe for the Christmas Pickles (aka Mock Apple Rings)

4 lbs overripe cucumbers
1 cup lime
1 cup vinegar
1 small bottle of red food color
1 Tbsp alum

Syrup:
8 cups water
5 cups Sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
4 oz red hots
cinnamon sticks

Peel and slice the cucumbers into 1/2 in slices. Remove all the seeds from the rings. (I personally slice the cucumber in half before cutting the rings so they are easier to remove seeds but this creates a "half ring" Mix 1 cup lime and enough water to cover the rings. Soak 24 hrs.
Wash well and drain off the lime water. Soak in ice water for 3 hrs. Drain. Mix 1 cup vinegar, food coloring, alum with enough water to cover the rings and simmer for 2 hrs. Drain and discard water.
Mix syrup ingredients together and bring to a boil. Pour over rings and let stand 24 hrs. Drain and save the syrup. Add 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Put the rings in jars and pour hot syrup over them. Add 1 cinnamon stick to each jar and seal.

Some recipes say to process in a water bath for 10min for pint jars.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this recipe? Is it safe? Mine are soaking right now after adding the syrup. I don't want to mess these up. I am using qts though instead of pints. How long do I need to process them in the water bath?

kahlanne, I am really concerned about the mock apple rings. Every recipe I've seen using a lime soak sez to rinse well and soak in clean water THREE times. This is to remove all traces of the lime which if not removed will neutralize the vinegar and put you in risk of botulism. The amount of vinegar also seems low.

Annie and lindac -- two more of the experts around here -- commented on the okra on your original post. I put a note over there asking them to look at this recipe.

OK, I'm not Annie or Linda Lou, but I agree that lime pickles must be rinsed thoroughly in three washes to remove the lime residue.

I've never seen a recipe that uses both lime and alum, but the alum doesn't even work unless the pickles are fermented. Some Extension services still allow for the use of alum but in this recipe it serves no purpose.

I can't comment on the processing time; the syrup is plenty high in sugar but is way low in vinegar. Another mock apple ring recipe calls for 2 cups vinegar and 2 cups water with 10 cups sugar for 2 gallons of cucumbers. The proportions in that syrup come closer to current recommendations.

The potential for stomach upset with the lime and the alum is high plus the vinegar is low. I couldn't begin to guess an appropriate processing time.

Carol

kahlanne ... this has not been a good weekend for you. Sorry...
when I first found the harvest forum, i was trying to update some of my old recipes for this canning season. LindaLou, Carol, Annie, Lindac and quite a few others jumped in to help. Some recipes I changed ... others I decided not to use because making them safe changed the taste too much. Very depressing.
After you get over your disappointment, take a deep breath and com' on back for help before your next canning endeavor. Kay

I have been thinking about this. Here's a similar recipe I think would work (with pre-cautions). Please understand I'm not "official". You have to decide for yourself how badly you want to keep using this recipe.

2 gallons peeled and sliced cucumbers (clear out center)
2 c. lime
8 1/2 c. water
1 c. vinegar
1 sm. bottle red food coloring
1 tbsp. alum
10 c. sugar
8 broken cinnamon sticks
6 oz. red hot cinnamon candy
2 c. vinegar

Mix lime and water; pour over cucumbers and let soak for 24 hours. Drain and rinse.
Bring vinegar, food coloring and alum to a boil with cucumbers. Simmer 2 hours. Drain and place rings in large container.

Make a syrup of sugar, cinnamon, red hots, vinegar and 2 cups water. Bring to boil; pour over rings and let stand overnight.

Pack rings in jars. Reheat syrup to boil. Pour over rings to mouth of jars. Process in water bath for 5 minutes to seal.

1. When using the lime, be sure not to lean over and inhale the dust. Be careful with the stuff. Once the pickles have been soaked in the lime solution for the appropriate time, drain, rinse, cover with cold water and soak for an hour. Drain, rinse and repeat two more times. It is very important to get all the lime off.

2. Don't use the alum. Pickles should be quite crisp (brittle) with the use of the lime. If you want additional "crispness insurance" add Pickle Crisp to each jar instead.

3. Don't go below 1/2 water, 1/2 5% vinegar in your syrup. If it's too tangy for you that way, add more sugar to compensate.

You can raw-pack a sweet pickle (the NCHFP gives times for both raw-pack and hot-pack) though now they're leaning towards hot-pack so the vinegar penetrates the cucumbers. Do BWB for 10 minutes.

I hope this information helps you to decide whether you want to continue using this recipe or not.

Carol

Is there any way to save the mock apple rings? Basically I peeled the rings, mixed 1cup lime and enough water to cover and soaked for 24hrs. I poured them out in the left side of the sink and filled it with water. I then drained the sink while stirring the pickles around. I then let the water run over the pickles, somewhat filling the sink, while I picked up handfuls of pickles and rinsed under the running water. I then placed them in a colander and lightly rinsed again before pouring in a pot. I did this until all were rinsed. Nexte I soaked in ice water for 3hrs. Then I drained the water. I boiled 1cup of vinegar, food coloring, 1tbsp alup with enough water to cover the rings and simmered for 2hrs. I then drained them. Next I mixed the syrup ingredients and boiled. Then poured the syrup over the rings and they are setting in that now. The syrup is 8cups water, 5cups sugar, 4oz red hots 1/2cup vinegar.

It calls for me to drain the syrup but save it and add more sugar then boil and pour over rings. Can I add more vinegar to the syrup there? Would that solve the bacteria problem?

My personal opinion? I'd be afraid to try to save them since the drain,rinse,soak cycle was not repeated two more times. The reason you do this is to be assured that excess lime has been removed. I do not think adding vinegar at this stage would help if there's still lime present -- and there's no way to know.
BTW, some folks on the forum advise against using the lime soak method. I have used it for Iced Green Tomato Pickles and plan to put up some Hot 'n Sweet Pickles (cukes and jalapenoes) as soon as I can get good cukes.
Before making the decision to continue using this method, I read everything I could find on the subject (with special attention to the NCHFP and posts on this Forum.

The NCHFP does still list lime as an option on one of their pickle recipes and since they're the "gold standard" I think it's OK to do it, as long as you're suitably careful.

On the other issue of re-processing, we can't give you an answer because there's just no way to verify if it's OK or not. I will say you can certainly add more vinegar to the syrup at the final stage but whether it's safe or not is a total unknown. You're the one who decides. It would be irresponsible of us to mislead you or give you an assurance based on nothing but "gut feeling."

It is really, really hard to throw food out (not to mention the time expended) but for me personally it's a small cost compared to some of the alternatives.

There's always that issue of the odds. People have made such recipes for generations and done just fine, but who knows which time will be the "wrong" time. Cucumbers are low-acid like any other vegetable, and without the proper ratio of vinegar and appropriate processing, there's a risk.

Carol

I am going to try to post again.
To make sure I understand. The lime keeps the vinegar from working and the vinegar keeps away botulism. The water bath takes care of other bacteria.
Now my recipe didn't call for rinsing the lime away enough. Also, the amount of vinegar in the syrup is too little. How do I know the correct amount of vinegar to use? I know it needs to be lower than ph 4.6 but how much vinegar does it take to get that?

Not trying to be a pain about my pickles but just understand more clearly. I guess in my simple mind it would seem that if I rinsed the pickles really well again like I should have with the lime in the first place, I could then create a new correct ph syrup to pour over the pickles. Since the lime was completely rinsed, the new more acidic syrup should take care of the botulism and the water bath the rest. I understand you don't want to advise me wrong but in theory would that be right? I know it isn't tested and it doesn't mean that I am going to try it but I just want to understand. THanks.

Yes, the lime will keep the acid too low. It is like taking Tums for acid indigestion, sort of as an example.
Elizabeth Andress said it can be used, but it must be rinsed, rinsed, and rinsed. I won't use it again, though. That is an old recipe. Alum is no longer used, either. It does nothing to make them crisp. It can acutally have the opposite affect on the pickles. It only works on fermented ones. Those old pickle recipes were based on vinegar that was anywhere from 7% to 40 % aciditiy. Now we use vinegar that is 5% acidity for pickling. Some of the cheap ones here are only 4% and cannot be used.
Also,this year Pickle Crisp is no longer just added to the jars as it was, because people were finding that the part of the jar that it was added to, either the top or bottom, that was the part that stayed crisp. It didn't seem to go all the way through the whole product. I have not read the new directions, but heard it was now mixed in the brine or syrup for pickles. The directions are supposed to be in the boxes. I still have some left, so I don't need to buy any this year.
I think there is a newer version of that recipe someplace. If I can find it i will post later so we can compare the vinegar amounts.
I cannot guarantee adding more vinegar now will make it safe. As Carol said, it is up to you to decide.
You asked how you will know how much vinegar is safe. Use new, safe, tested recipes from reliable sources, like the Ball Blue Book or the University of Georgia's So Easy to Preserve. You can use their website free and has the same recipes. Anything prior to 1994 should not be used. I will say that may change, too, since the new USDA guide is in the process of being approved now by USDA. Not sure when it will be out, but should be soon.

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation.

I found this recipe. I would have no problem with this one. If you wanted them more crisp, then you can add Pickle Crisp.
CINNAMON PICKLES
Ingredients
10 large pickling cucumbers, 2" diameter
boiling water
7 cups (1650 ml) sugar
2 tbsp (30 ml) pickling salt
3 cups (700 ml) distilled white vinegar
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup (125 ml) red hots cinnamon candy
Preparation
Wash cucumbers and scrub gently to remove spines.
Wash a 3 gallons (11.4 ltr) crock/plastic/glass container in hot soapy water and rinse.
Fill container with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes.
Empty hot water and pack cucumbers in container.
Pour boiling water over cucumbers to cover.
Cover container and let stand overnight at room temperature.
Drain water from container.
Repeat the above 3 steps three more times (3 more nights).
On the 4th day, peel cucumbers, cut in 1/2 inch slices and remove center of slices (seed area) with corer or knife.
Return slices to container.
In saucepan, combine 3 cups (700 ml) sugar, pickling salt, vinegar, cinnamon sticks and candy.
Boil over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Pour over rings, cover and let stand overnight.
Drain syrup into a sauce pan, add 1 cup (225 ml) of remaining sugar.
Bring to a boil and pour over rings.
Repeat the last 3 steps for 3 more nights.
On the last day, wash and sterilize 3 pint jars, lids and canning rings.
Leave in hot water bath until needed.
Drain syrup into saucepan, remove cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil.
Fill hot jars with cucumber rings and cover with boiling syrup (leave 1/4 inch space).
Wipe rim of jar with clean damp cloth--they must be clean or lid will not seal.
Put on lid and ring and place in boiling water bath in canner. Process 10 min.
Remove from canner with canning tongs and listen for each jar lid to pop.
Once sealed, cool at room temperature and store in pantry until needed.
If jar does not seal, store in refrigerator and use right away.
Chill to serve.

Thanks for sharing the info about the Pickle Crisp, Linda Lou. I'm finding even on the NCHFP site, as well as other Extension sites, that they're running behind on updating documents, so it's difficult for us "civilians" to keep up with these things.

I used to get an Extension newsletter, but they discontinued that long ago (budget issue I'm sure).

I wish the NCHFP would post a "What's new in Preserving" link on their home page. It wouldn't need to be pretty, just something that summarizes the latest developments.

Is there a good way you know of (aside from your posting, of course) for us to keep up with these changes?

Carol

Thanks so much for all the help. I have decided to scratch all but the pepper jelly. I guess I should post it here just in case...
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup jalapeno pepper
6 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
6oz liquid pectin

Over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalepenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to rolling boil for 3 min. Remove from heat and cool 5 min. Stirring constantly add the pectin and let mix cool for 2 min. more Now stir for 1 min. Pour into hot jars and process in hot water bath for 10 min.

Also, would my pickled okra recipe have been a good one if I would have given it the 10 min hot water bath for pint jars? Basically you place 1 garlic clove, 1 hot pepper, and 1 tsp of dill seed in each jar with okra. Bring 1 cup water, 1 qt. white vinegar (5% acidity), and 1/4 cup salt to boil and simmer for 5 min. Pour while hot over the okra in the jar. Give 10min hot water bath.
My kids love this okra and if it is a good recipe with the hwb then I would like to try again.

As far as your pickled okra is concerned, it looks like your recipe is even higher in vinegar than the currently tested one.

Take a look at the site I've linked to and as long as you stay within these perameters you're fine.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Michigan Extension Pickled Okra