So, can anyone recommend good cucumber varieties for pickling? I hadn’t really planned to pickle this year when I planted the cucumbers. I used a burpless bush variety, and read that those don’t make good pickles. And there are several more cukes on the vines about ready to be picked. More pickles soon!
BTW, the pickles I made last weekend were really tasty, but not at all crispy. That might have something to do with the variety. I did use grape leaves which are supposed to help keep them crispy, but they were store bought and in a jar, so not fresh. That might make a difference too.
Cross Country and Sumter are two excellent varieties for pickling, but both make a nice slicing cuke as well. The smaller the cuke when you make pickles, generally the crisper they will be. Depending on the kind of pickles you are making, a dunk in a warm alum water bath will take a limp cucumber chip and make it as hard as a quarter. Good luck and let me know if you have any problems. I put up hundreds of jars of pickles each year.