Pickles...

This is very unusual recipe but honestly it is the best.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart water
• 300 grams vinegar
• 170 grams sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 260 grams chili ketchup
• Dill sticks, enough to cover bottom of the jars

Notes:

*This marinate is enough to pure into about 4 or 1 quart jars filled with cucumbers.

*I purchased ketchup from Russian store, but I have seen spicy ketchup at regular grocery stores. I would suggest picking one that you like the most because that would be main role of flavor in pickles.

How to:

1. Combine together in a pot water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring it to boil. Turn it off, mix in ketchup and set aside.
2. To sterilize jars, preheat oven to 215F. Wash jars and lids, place them in oven for about 15 minutes or until completely dry.
3. Wash cucumbers in cold water, cut of both ends of cucumber. You may need to cut some cucumber into smaller pieces to fill in empty spaces in a jars.
4. Cover bottoms of jars with dill, fill them up tight with cucumbers. Pour in marinate all the way to the top. Cover with lid, but not tight.
5. Preheat oven to 250F. Place jars in oven and let them sit there for about 20 minutes, it all depends on size of the jars and cucumbers. Once cucumbers change colour, remove them from oven. It is very important not to overcook cucumbers so they still stay crispy, so be sure to remove them from oven when they change in colour.
6. Close all lids really tight and put all jars upside down. Cover with towel and let them sit there for 4-5 hours. Cucumbers will cook little more in hot water.
7. Store in cool place, they can be stored for up to a year.

Tips:

*I purchased jars from Walmart, they are unbranded so they are a bit cheaper than Ball or Kerr brands.

*Try to find local farm that sells cucumbers, they will cost less than at store or mamas garden. :)