Giardiniera -- Mixed Pickled Vegetables for Canning -- U S D A

Molly53's Note:

A tangy, pickled vegetable topping for Italian beef sandwiches, with sausages, French dips, pastas, pizzas, and more. If you'd like to kick it up a notch, feel free to add a handful of chiles. From the US National Center for Home Food Preservation.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 3 hrs
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 10 pints

• 4 lbs pickling cucumbers (of 4- to 5-inch, washed, cut off 1/16-inch from blossom end or discard and cut cukes into 1-inch sli)
• 2 lbs small onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 cups celery (cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 cups carrots (1/2-inch pieces)
• 2 cups sweet red peppers (peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 5 cups white vinegar (5 percent)
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1/2 cup canning salt or 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons celery seeds
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions:

1. Combine vegetables, cover with 2 inches of cubed or crushed ice, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.
2. In 8-quart kettle, combine vinegar and mustard and mix well.
3. Add salt, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, cloves, turmeric.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Drain vegetables and add to hot pickling solution.
6. Cover and slowly bring to a boil.
7. Drain vegetables but save pickling solution.
8. Fill vegetables in sterile pint jars, or clean quarts, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
9. Add pickling solution, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
10. Adjust lids and process pints for 5 minutes at altitudes up to 1000 feet, 10 minutes from 1000 to 6000 feet and 15 minutes over that. Quarts are processed 10, 15 and 20 minutes depending upon your altitude.