1/2 of a nutmeg.
A small piece of mace.
1 small green pepper.
1 gill of grated horseradish.
1 ounce of green ginger.
1 ounce of alum.
Have the cucumbers picked with a part of the stems on. Wash them, and put in a tub or stone jar. Make a brine with the salt and six quarts of water. Pour this on the cucumbers while boiling hot. On the second and third days pour off the brine. Boil and skim it, and then pour it, while boiling hot, on the cucumbers. On the fourth day take the pickles from the brine. Put the alum in six quarts of boiling water and boil until the alum is dissolved. Pour this on the pickles and let them stand until the next day; then pour off the liquid, and, after scalding and skimming it, pour it on the pickles again.
Repeat this the sixth day. Should the cucumbers be not green enough on the sixth day, add a little more alum to the water. On the seventh day pour off the alum water and cover the pickles with clear boiling water. Let them stand in this water for twenty-four hours. At the end of this time take them from the water and place in the jars in which they are to be kept. Sprinkle the white mustard seed among the cucumbers.
Put the vinegar in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware kettle and set on the fire. Add the cinnamon, broken small, the nutmeg, grated, and the other spice, as well as the sugar. Boil this for five minutes; then take from the fire and partially cool. Pour this on the cucumbers. Now add to the contents of the jars the horseradish, ginger root, and the green pepper, cut in pieces. Store the pickles in a cool, dark place. They will keep perfectly for two years if carefully made.
The quantities of sugar and spice may be varied to suit one’s taste.