Sweet Home~made Gherkins

These pickled onions got me thinking about making Gherkins. As I Googled for recipes, I realized that this can be a complicated process. But I managed to find a fairly simple recipe, requiring small steps over 5 days. Not to bad then!

Sweet Home~made Gherkins

Ingredients:

2 Punnets Gherkins (I'm guessing 1kg)
1 L Brine (45ml Salt dissolved in 1 L Water)
500ml Vinegar
3 Cups Sugar
1/2 Box Pickling spice from Robertsons
2.5ml Mixed spice

Method:
1) Top and tail the gherkins, and slice if you so choose. I just cut mine into thirds.
2) Cover them in brine overnight (24hrs)
3) Drain
4) Combine the Vinegar and 1 C sugar with the spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
5) Put the gherkins in a crock and cover with spiced vinegar. Leave overnight.
6) The next day, drain the vinegar off back into the saucepan and add another cup of sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Pour back onto the gherkins and allow to stand overnight.
7) The next day, drain the spiced vinegar off into a saucepan and add the last cup of sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Pour back onto the gherkins and allow to stand for the last night.
8) The next day, drain the spiced vinegar off into the saucepan and bring to a boil again. Pack the gherkins into sterilized jars. Pour the hot syrup onto the gherkins filling each jar. Leave 1cm headspace. Seal and pack away into the pantry. Be sure to remember to pack them on your next picnic!