Five Year Pickles

Instructions

1. Make a brine of 1 gallon of water and 1 cup coarse salt.
2. Pour the brine over the cucumbers; weigh them down.
3. Soak for 2 weeks.
4. Take out the cucumbers from the brine and soak overnight in cold water.
5. Remove the cucumbers from water and slice into 1/4-inch pieces.
6. Mix powdered alum in enough water to cover the cucumbers.
7. Soak the sliced cucumbers in the alum solution for 24 hours. Do not rinse.
8. Heat the white vinegar to boiling point.
9. Pour the hot vinegar over the soaked cucumbers and let set for 24 hours.
10. Prepare a crock or jar; layer cucumbers, sugar, and pickling spices until all are used.
11. Weight down the layered mixture and cover with a cloth.
12. The pickles can be used the next day, but they taste better with age.
13. Do not add any vinegar; the cucumbers will produce their own flavor.
14. Leave the pickles in the jar for a couple of months, then transfer to quart jars.
15. They do not need to be sealed.