Instructions

1. Throughly scrub cucumbers with cold water. Slice of blossom ends. Cut cucumber length wise into quarters.
2. In a large stainless steel pot, combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring mixture to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of dill seed, one garlic clove and 1/2 of a chili pepper if using into 6 hot sterilized pint sized canning jars. Place quartered cucumbers into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, maintaining the 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rims with a warm, wet paper towel. Center lid on each jar and screw bands to just finger-tip tight.
4. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and let pickles cool on a clean towel laid out on the kitchen counter. Do not disturb for 12 hours before removing bands and storing pickles in a cool space for up to a year.