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Preparing and Canning Pickled Vegetables

14-Day Sweet Pickles

Can be canned whole, in strips, or in slices

14-day Sweet Pickles

  • 4 lbs of 2- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers (If packed whole, use cucumbers of uniform size)
  • 3/4 cup canning or pickling salt (Separated – 1/4 cup on each of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th days)
  • 2 tsp celery seed
  • 2 tbsp mixed pickling spices
  • 5-1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 cups vinegar (5 percent)

Yield: About 5 to 9 pints

Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4-inch of stem attached. Place whole cucumbers in suitable 1-gallon container. Add 1/4 cup canning or pickling salt to 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Pour over cucumbers. Add suitable cover and weight. Place clean towel over container and keep the temperature at about 70ºF.

On the third and fifth days, drain salt water and discard. Rinse cucumbers and rescald cover and weight. Return cucumbers to container. Add 1/4 cup salt to 2 quarts fresh water and boil. Pour over cucumbers. Replace cover and weight, and re-cover with clean towel. On the seventh day, drain salt water and discard. Rinse cucumbers and rescald containers, cover, and weight. Slice or strip cucumbers, if desired, and return to container. Place celery seed and pickling spices in small cheesecloth bag. Combine 2 cups sugar and 4 cups vinegar in a saucepan. Add spice bag, bring to a boil and pour pickling solution over cucumbers. Add cover and weight, and re-cover with clean towel.

On each of the next six days, drain syrup and spice bag and save. Add 1/2 cup sugar each day and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Remove cucumbers and rinse. Scald container, cover, and weight daily. Return cucumbers to container, add boiled syrup, cover, weight, and re-cover with towel.

On the 14th day, drain syrup into saucepan. Fill sterile pint jars, or clean quart jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add 1/2 cup sugar to syrup and bring to boil. Remove spice bag. For more information see "Sterilization of Empty Jars" Pour hot syrup over cucumbers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1 or use low- temperature pasteurization treatment. For more information see "Low-Temperature Pasteurization Treatment,".

Table 1. Recommended process time for 14-day Sweet Pickles in a boiling-water canner.
  Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Raw Pints 5 min 10 15
Quarts 10 15 20

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2009.

Reviewed November 2009.

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