Yes you can Preserve your backyard bounty with family-tested canning recipes Homemade
By: Eva Wasney Posted: 4:56 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025 Last Modified: 8:31 AM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025 Updates

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This article was published 02/09/2025 (365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A countertop covered in ripe tomatoes. A crisper drawer bursting with cucumbers. A pantry overcome with apples.

For home gardeners, late summer is a time to reap what they’ve sown and question their overambitious spring planting decisions.

While there are many ways to deal with an abundance of backyard produce — freezing, fermenting, dehydrating — today’s Homemade column focuses on canning. Find below recipes for Elisabeth’s Crunchy Dills from reader Elisabeth Laing, Pickled Sunshine from Judy Fowler and Beet and Horseradish Relish from Wendy Bunio.

Home canning is an age-old method of food preservation, but it can come with health risks when the proper precautions aren’t followed. Refer to the Province of Manitoba’s safety guidelines (here, or see below) for best practices and advice on equipment, sterilization and storage.

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Elisabeth’s Crunchy Dills

• 750 ml (3 cups) white vinegar (5 per cent acidity)
• 2.25 litres (9 cups) water
• 160 ml (2/3 cups) pickling salt
• 160 ml (2/3 cups) white sugar
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) pickling spice
• 6 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 fresh hot pepper, thinly sliced
• Fresh dill seed (optional)
• Enough small cucumbers to fill 6 quart (litre) sized jars

Sterilize jars and new snap lids. Place pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag.

In a large stainless steel pot, combine vinegar, water, pickling salt, sugar and spice bag. Bring to a boil and let simmer.

In each jar, place one finely diced garlic clove, fresh dill, a small sliver of hot pepper and fresh dill seed, if using.

Pack cucumbers very tightly in each jar (slice cucumbers if needed to eliminate any spaces otherwise brine will be too strong), leaving one-inch of head space.

Ladle simmering hot brine over cucumbers.

Clean jar rims and fit with snap lids. Screw on jar rings until fingertip tight. Place jars in a simmering water bath, submerged to one-inch above jar tops. Process for six minutes and turn off the stove. Remove jars from the canner and let cool.

A sealed lid will curve downward in the centre of each jar. Store in a cool, dark place.

“I have made these Crunchy Dills since 1965. When my children were young, the neighbour’s kids would come over to play and they knew they would get crackers and cheese and Crunchy Dills.”

— Elisabeth Laing

Beet and Horseradish Relish

• 1 L (4 cups) beets
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) fresh horseradish, shredded
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) vinegar
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
• 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
• 5 ml (1 tsp) pickling spices
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 whole allspice berries
• 1 cinnamon stick

Cut beet stems, leaving 1/2 inch. Add beets to a pot and cover with water and boil until tender. Once cooled, peel off skin and remove root and stem ends. Shred in a roasting pan. Mix in shredded horseradish.

Wrap pickling spices, cloves, allspice and cinnamon in a cheesecloth bag. Place vinegar, sugar, salt and spice bag in a pot and bring to a boil.

Remove spice bag and pour hot brine over beet mixture, stirring to combine.

Fill hot sterilized jars leaving 1/2-inch of head space. Clean jar rims, secure lids and rings.

Process for 30 minutes in a water bath canner and let cool.

“My uncle had a garden patch and my mother had a neighbour who gave her bags of vegetables from his farm. I can remember working in the kitchen along with my mother and grandmother cleaning and cooking beets. It was very noisy as fans had to run as there was no air conditioning and it was always so hot when we did this job.”

— Wendy Bunio

Pickled Sunshine

• 7 large ripe cucumbers, peeled, seeded and rough chopped
• 4 large onions, rough chopped
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) pickling salt
• 625 ml (2 1/2 cups) vinegar
• 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
• 750 ml (3 cups) sugar
• 250 ml (1 cup) all purpose flour
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) mustard powder
• 5 ml (1 tsp) turmeric
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ginger powder
• 5 ml (1 tsp) cayenne pepper

Place cucumbers and onions in a food processor in batches and pulse to a small dice. Transfer to a glass bowl and sprinkle with salt. Cover and let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

In the morning, rinse vegetables well with cold water and let drain.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, mixing well. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

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Turn down heat to medium low and add cucumbers and onions. Let cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Pour pickle mixture into hot, sterilized jars and secure new lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

“My mother made this pickle for our family when we were growing up. It was my grandmother’s recipe and my two sisters and I have been making it for many years. It’s really more like a chutney and is a required accompaniment for any pork dish!”

— Judy Fowler

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Canning basics

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.