Oma’s Pickles
When it comes to canning, Kathryn Calvert knows her stuff. To
her family, she’s Oma, and to her pickle fans, she’s the master.
Endowed by a pass-along pickling process, a secret ingredient and
a technique with a twist, Oma’s pickles are served cold and crispy, sweet with
a hint of smokey dill, eaten with a pickle
fork straight from the jar or paired with
a sandwich.
Most picklers start with fresh
cucumbers, but not Oma. Her
secret ingredient? Mt. Olive Kosher
Dill Pickles. Made in bulk-sized
batches and stored in gallon jars,
family and friends frequently raid
her pantry.
“It’s quite easy,” Oma says.
“Anyone, who wants to make
them, can do it.”
First, soak the Mt. Olive
Kosher Dill Pickles in 10 percent
brine (2 cups salt, 1 quart water).
Then wash off the brine and slice
the pickles. Put the pickles to the side, and
combine four cups of vinegar and four cups
sugar in a large pot.
“I know it sounds like a lot,” she says, “but
trust me, they only taste this good because of the
sugar.”
To this mixture, add a teaspoon of mustard seed, a
teaspoon of celery seed and 32 whole cloves for 10 minutes,
making sure not to boil the mixture.
“The cloves give the mixture that spice that everyone tends to like in their
pickles,” she explains.
She insists that the pickles must be completely blended with the spices to be
perfect.
“Shake it as much as you want,” she says. “You have to get all those flavors to
meld.” Finally, Oma layers the slices of pickles carefully into her jar and seals it
up. Oma won’t take credit for the recipe. She attributes it to a dear friend who
passed away.
“She would always make these pickles and bring them to church picnics and
gatherings. “I finally asked her for the recipe and she was more than happy to
pass it on,” Oma says. “I make these pickles with her in mind.” —Amanda Raxlin
86
WBM june 2012
Allison potter
“Shake it
as much as
you want,” she
says. “You have
to get all those
flavors to
meld.”