Bread And Butter Pickles

Equipment you will need:
Water bath canner with a jar rack
A canning funnel
A very large bowl, or a bus tray available at most restaurant supply stores (Smart & Final has them).
A jar lifter (useful but not necessary)
A draft free area to rest the hot processed jars, lined with a thick towel.A tray is good for this also.
A 4 cup glass measureing cup.A clean damp cloth for wiping the rims of the jars.

Getting Started:Peel and cut onions in half and slice in medium thick slices. Peel garlic cloves and smash (give the clove a whack to split it).Throughly wash cucumbers, remove ends and slice about 1/4 inch thick. Combine vegetables in a large non metalic bowl(or the bus pan like I use). Sprinkle with the salt and cover with the cracked ice. Cover with a tea towel and let stand for about 3 hours.Add more ice as needed.While the cucumbers are sitting, wash and sterilize your jars, rings and lids.If you have a dishwasher, that is a great way to accomplish both steps, but do the rings and lids seperately. Place the clean rings and lids in a pan of boiling water and boil them for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover and leave them in the hot water until ready to use.

Now the pickle making begins: Fill the water bath canner about half full of water and heat, a boil is not neccessary at this point.Just keep the water hot. It's also a good idea to have a second pot of hot water ready to add to the canner once the loaded rack is inserted, so  that the tops of the jars are covered.Cover a tray (or the counter) with a thick towel for cooling the jars.
Place the vegetables in small batches in a colander and rinse lightly. As each batch is rinsed, remove them to a clean container.Repeat this step until all the vegetables are rinsed.In a 2 quart sauce pan, combine sugar, vinegar, turmeric, celery and mustard seed. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cover and keep hot. Pack the vegetables into the hot jars, doing one jar at a time.I pack the vegetable fairly tight, to within 1/2 inch of the top.Place the canning funnel in a jar and using the 4 cup measure cup filled with the hot vinegar solution add the vinegar mixture to within 1/4 inch of the rim of the jar. I usually add a little extra (pinch) of mustard and celery seed to each jar if it looks like there isn't quite enough.Wipe off any of the vinegar solution with the damp cloth and place the lid and ring on. Don't screw the ring down really tightly or the lid won't seal properly. I set my rack on the edge of the canner (most racks kave a small lip for this) and place the jars as they are filled in the rack over the hot water to keep them warm until the rack is full.When all the jars are filled, lower the rack into the water bath. Add more hot water if needed and when the water comes to a boil, set the timer for 5 minutes.When the timer goes off, remove the rack and wipe any water off the top of the jars.using the jar lifter, remove the hot jars to the towel to cool and seal.You will hear a distinctive POP as the jars seal. Any jars that don't seal will need to be refrigerated and used first.