This old-fashioned pickle recipe is different from most other pickles. Fresh cucumbers and onions are pickled in a mustard sauce infused with turmeric and celery seed.
This homemade mustard pickle recipe was handed down to me by my husband’s Grandmother, (bless her soul) who has since passed. The sauce is tangy and thick and this recipe is perfect for the end of the garden bounty.
It’s was grammy Opal’s way of using up every last bit of the delicious garden bounty she worked so hard to grow all spring and summer long.
To be honest, I always looked forward to the phone call asking for my help getting the vegetables ready, because I craved the thick mustard sauce pickles with their piquant sweetness.
How to Make Homemade Mustard Pickles
First, gather all of your ingredients and anyone at all that you can con into helping you wash and chop up all the veggies.
Put all the chopped veggies in a very large pot with enough COLD water to Cover. Sprinkle them with canning salt and let the whole pot sit overnight, covered. (Do not refrigerate).
In case you’re wondering what’s the difference between canning salt and table salt, canning salt is pure, lacking preservatives. Table salt contains additives such as potassium iodide or sodium iodate, etc. Using table salt can cause the jars of pickles to become cloudy, or dark.
The next morning, drain and rinse the veggies very well. Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a heavy large stockpot.
Bring the mustard sauce to just under the boiling point. At this point it will be quite thick, then add veggies.
Ladle into canning jars, be sure to leave the proper amount of headspace! Process in a water bath canner for fifteen minutes.
Here are a few of the finished jars, not that they last very long. These have been my husbands favorite since he was a child. Our own sons adore them as well.
If you’d rather have old fashioned mustard pickle spears, just use cucumbers in place of the cauliflower. Of course, you’ll need to brine them overnight as well.
Homemade End of the Garden Mustard Pickles Recipe
You’ll Need:
3 Quarts of Sliced Cucumbers
2 Quarts of Quartered Green Tomatoes
2 Quarts Button Onions
1 Large Head or 2 small heads of Cauliflower (cut up)
2 Large Green Peppers
8 Tablespoons of Canning Salt
Mustard Sauce Ingredients
1 Gal. Vinegar
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 Tbs. Turmeric
1 1/2 c. prepared Mustard
6 c. sugar
2 c. flour
Put all of the prepared vegetables in a very large stockpot with enough COLD water to Cover. Sprinkle with 8 T. Canning Salt and let sit overnight.
Drain and Rinse Well.
Prepare the mustard sauce in a stockpot. Combine the flour, sugar, turmeric and celery seed mixing well. Add the prepared mustard (this is bottled mustard, not mustard powder) and vinegar.
Mix all ingredients together, and whisk until smooth, over medium/high heat. The sauce will become quite thick, bring to the boiling point, add veggies, scald.
Ladle the mustard pickles into Hot prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Liss Notes: Although this is definitely not one of the easiest pickle recipes, it is certainly one of the most requested. If you’d prefer mustard pickle spears, simply cut and soak cucumber spears in the same amount of brine as listed for the veggies and create jars of spears.
