Family Favorite Dill Pickles

Heat water, vinegar and salt to boiling.

Add clean cucumbers to solution and heat through.

In bottom of quart jars place 1 or 2 heads of dill and 1 clove of garlic. Pack cucumbers into jars.

Pour boiling solution over cucumbers. Add 1/4 tsp. alum to each jar.

Seal.

Ready to eat in 6 - 8 weeks.

Variation: For extra zip add 1 hot pepper per jar.

CDKitchen Note: Old-fashioned pickle recipes often contain alum. It is used to make the pickles crisper and give them a more crunchy texture.

Since the active ingredient of alum is aluminum, most professionals do not recommend this method for crisping pickles. Aluminum is linked to toxic effects if it is consumed in a large amount over time.

However, most people do not eat large amounts of pickles. If you want, you can omit the alum, and have slightly softer pickles.

Soaking cucumbers in ice water for four to five hours prior to pickling is another method for making crisp pickles.