That long involved process is what makes those pickles so good! lol! iirc, the Ball recipe I use calls for brining for a week, then making the syrup and re-boiling that every day for a week too. :O) I can't think of any other sweet pickles that I make with whole cloves, though I'm sure there's something out there.

Yeah, sounds like bread and butter pickles. BH&G has a good one also. I cannot understand someone that will not share the recipe. If you don't want to share, don't give the whatever to anyone! Oh my goodness, YOU got it from someone!

Kate - Forgot to mention that I grew the cucumbers so I'm starting from scratch.

Ok, Make dill pickles without any garlic; let them rest for a week, slice how you like and do as directed. Extra work, but I'm sure the end product will be the same.

I use to make B&B pickles from scratch, and this is sooooo easy, and tastes the same. I use the same recipe for B&B pickled beets, but I just use regular cooked beets - or canned - juelien sliced.

I love those sweet and spicy 10 day sweet pickles, but they are very different than the bread and butter pickles I also make.

I have used this recipe, and it's pretty good. I prefer the 10 day pickles, but this is an OK and quicker alternative. I do not use the tea, but I do use the Pickle Crisp. The recipe came from a blog called The Modern Homestead.

Sweet Pickle Spears

• 4 Quart Jars, with Rings and Lid Sets
• 4 pounds cucumbers cut in 6 inch spears, or sliced
• 4 cups sugar
• 3 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 3 Tbsp canning salt
• 4 cinnamon stick 3-4" long
• 4 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tsp fresh ginger sliced or diced
• 4 organic black tea bags (**See notes) I like to use English Breakfast

• Cover spears with boiling water and let stand 2 hours. Drain. (***See notes)
• Combine sugar, salt, and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• In hot wide mouth quart jars, place 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp whole cloves, 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, and the contents of 1 tea bag (don't include any of the packaging!).
• Pack spears into hot jars and ladle sugar/vinegar over them, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
• Remove bubbles and wipe the rim of the jar to ensure a good seal.
• Adjust lid and ring to finger-tightness, process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
• Remove carefully from boiling water bath and place on a towel on the counter (this reduces the change of glass breakage).
• Allow to sit overnight before moving. Check seals in the morning and refrigerate anything that didn't fully seal.

Notes

See full step by step water-bath canning directions here!** Organic Tea: You can use pickle crisp instead, if desired. 3/4 tsp per pint, or 1 1/2 tsp per quart. Add the pickle crisp to each jar before adding the cucumbers or liquid. Process as normal. *** Boiling Water Step: Please note, this step is to take the place of a 3 day brine process that is normal with sweet cucumber pickles.The water DOES NOT stay at a boiling temperature, you boil it, then pour it over a bowl full of sliced cucumbers. There has been some confusion about this step, so I'm adding additional details. Hopefully this helps. You CAN skip this step if desired, however, you may not get the full flavor depth in your finished product.

Happy Canning!

Annie

My grandmother made the best watermelon rind pickles......with cloves and I have never found a recipe that comes close. One recipe I spent a lot of time on turned out sweet and VERY salty....and just nasty.

^^^ that sounds interesting, didn't know the watermelon rind is edible.

Annie - That recipe looks really good! Think I will try that later this afternoon.

Thank-you.

I made watermelon pickles once. You use the white in between the red center and the green rind. I liked them, but they had a lot of cloves, were sweet, and a lot of work. No one else ate them, so I never made them again. If I did, I would cut back on the cloves. They were not salty.

While you can brine for a long time, you can also 'brine" by salting and letting the juices "sweat" out for 15 min. to a couple of hours. Then rinse off the salt and proceed. That's how I do my pickles, particularly the sweet ones. If you don't, the high sugar solution around the cucumbers in the jar will cause all the water to leave the cucumbers AFTER they have been processed, and they will get limp and withered.

I’ve been making Sweet, Dill, Relish, and Pickled Watermelon Rind for years!! I give them as gifts as well. Our G-kids ”fight” over them during the holidays!!! LOL I’ll share recipes with anyone , and yes, the Sweet pickles take 12 days, but are so very worth it. IMHO