I use Mrs. Wages for most of my pickling and have never soaked my cukes prior to making them. I wash them well, trim off the blossom end, pack the hot jars, add pickle crisp, add the brine, and process according to the MW instructions. If the cukes are more than 24 hours from picking they would probably benefit from a few hours soaking in ice water to crisp them up a bit. My cukes usually go from the vine to the pickle jar in about 2 hours.

Thank you! Am in process right now - pickling has never been easier!

The purpose of the icy salt water pre-soak is to improve the odds of crisper pickles as it draws some of the high water content out of the cukes. It is always optional with any recipe but can make a notable difference in many cases so is worth trying sometime.

Dave

Thank you, /1Dave,

I have always used the salty pre-soak for the reason you describe but this time decided to follow the Mrs. Wages packet directions exactly as I had never before used a product of this nature. Will open a jar in the next day or so and see how the results compare to pickles I have made the 'regular' way. Again, thank you!