Floating is usually not a safety issue. It simply means that air was still trapped in the vegetable pieces. Over time, assuming it was processed correctly, they will sink. But slimy can be a serious problem as it is often indicative of too low acid brine (too little vinegar) and the food should not be consumed. The problem okra is often slimy naturally, especially if overly mature when harvested. So there is no way to know if the slimy results was from the okra or the too-low-acidity. To be safe I would recommend tossing them. " Are these ingredients good enough to can 1 quart of okra I'm using canning salt, garlic, ( ball) kosher dill pickle mix , and some (ball) mixed pickling spice, and the okra. These are the ingredients I have as of now. I know nothing at all." There are many tested and approved recipes for making pickled okra and when one is new to canning only those tested and approved recipes should be used. In all cases the amounts that can be added are limited to the specific amounts in the recipe - no additions. In other words the Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix is safe to use IF you follow the instructions on the label. I don't have a packet of it to check butyou would use only the packet mix, and the vinegar and water it calls for and the okra. No additional pickling spices or salt can be added unless the instructions call for them. I doubt they do as the salt and all the spices should already be in the mix in the packet. As for quarts - only if the instructions call for quarts. Normally such instructions are for pints only and you can never go to a larger jar than what is in the instructions as it creates safety issues in the pH and the processing time required. If you want to use an approved recipe for Pickled Okra instead use this one. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_dill_okra.html Dave

The USDA standards are established principally for the home food preserver. Many recipes are not USDA-approved but are still tested and safe. Lots of labs have that capacity. For example, Oregon State has a small entrepreneurship program which supports new purveyors of small-yield bottled food products and offers lab facilities for the testing to assure products are safe for sale. However, they would still have to be safe when processed and meet FDA plus any state regulations. Basically it comes down to the credentials of the person(s) who wrote the book and what they have done to assure food safety according to the criteria Dave indicated. One of the problems I have with many recipes/books is that the author(s) may have credentials but not necessarily credentials appropriate to home food processing. So Rick Fields, for example, does sell commercial pickles and relishes. However, he has available to him processing equipment not available to the average home preserver. Without his assurance of specific testing and safety in the home environment who knows how suitable the recipe is? I might add that in the home environment developers of canning recipes need to be sure they fall within a certain margin of error because there's more individual variation when you have many cooks using different product. In a commercial environment there's much more consistency. So Beverly Alfeld, for example, in her pickling book never goes above 4.3 pH, even though the limit for higher-acid BWB is 4.6 pH. She believes that leeway is important. Basically, I operate with a do not assume stance. My default position with any doubtful recipe is it isn't safe without very specific assurances, not merely the generic statement emailed by Williams-Sonoma. Carol

nosnowtn, Chase's pickles do not meet the USDA canning guidelines as they do not have a sufficiently high water to vinegar ratio and they are not water bath processed. However, that method does Canadian guidelines, which are somewhat less stringent than ours. However, the hot brine in hot jars should have sealed, normally you pack in the pickles in hot jars, add hot liquid brine and then place hot lids on the jars and they'll seal. Canadian rules also allow the sealing of jams and jellies in the same fashion, although the government here recommends against it. So, the short answer is yes, the jars should have sealed. Most of us know that the recipe doesn't meet the U.S. government standards and have chosen the level of risk we wish to take. The guidelines are just that and each canner assesses the possible danger and takes only the level of risk they are comfortable taking. The risk with pickles is small, although they are a food that is not reheated, they are eaten cold, so boiling them for safety isn't an option and that does increase the risk somewhat. At any rate, I'm comfortable making them and eating them, and letting my family eat them. You have to decide for yourself. Mine have always sealed that way, BTW, and my Dad open kettle canned tomatoes his whole life and they sealed most of the time too. I figure I get about a 10 to 20% fail rate on the seal using that method, which is why I only use it for those pickles, everything else gets a water bath, even jams and jellies. Annie

You are absolutely correct. I don't process my dills. I make sure the jars are as hot as can be by using the dishwasher on the sani cycle and then placing them in a 150-200 degree oven while I can them. This assures a very crisp pickle. However , many people are uncomfortable with this so I tell them to process as you would any pickle in a vinegar brine solution. When I posted the recipe on AllRecipes it went viral with great reviews. Somewhere along the way AllRecipes modified the recipe to add a hot water bath...from that point on there were many complaints that the pickles were not crisp. I don't advocate that anyone use the original recipe but this is about my 40th year plus making them this way. For anyone interested here is the "Cadillac" version of the recipe that I( posted several years after the one Ann posted. Mrs. Jack's Dills Here is more information about Dills than you ever wanted! I have no idea what exactly makes these pickles so good so I am religious about following the steps to the tee! I make these a bushel at a time, each bushel yields about 50 jars. If using less than a bushel you can usually count on between 6-8 dills(cukes) per 1 quart jar, depending on size. Use 3" to 4" cukes that have just been picked. I get mine at the market and always insist on cukes that have been picked that morning or the day before at the earliest. Place the cukes in ice cold water (I use my bath tub!!) and add a bag or two of ice to the water. The cukes should stay in the ice water for a minimum of 2 hours but no more than 8. Refresh the ice as required. I make the brine in great big batches using this ratio: 2 cups white vinegar 6 cups water 1/3 cup coarse pickling salt For each jar of dills you will need 2 nice size garlic cloves peeled and cut in half (4 pieces) and two dill florets. Use the dill heads not that fluffy stuff! So if you are doing a bushel....that is 50 jars so you need 100 dill florets and 100 garlic cloves. Leave the cukes whole. Now here is where the canning police and I part ways. This is how I do it and have for 30 years but it is not according to the guidelines . You'll need to make your own choice but I am convinced this is why they are so crisp. I sterilize my jars using the sani cycle of the dishwasher (you could boil the jars instead) When they are really hot, almost at the end of the cycle I place them in a oven at 150 degrees to keep them good and hot. Make the brine and bring the brine to a full and rolling boil. Place the rings and lids in a large saucepan with water and bring them almost to the boil. Then turn down but keep them hot. Place the cukes, garlic and dill in the hot jars. I do garlic, dill, cukes, garlic, dill. Pour brine over the cukes. Only do 2 jars at a time, leave the rest in the oven to keep them hot. Wipe the rim really well, this is critical to sealing, and place lid and ring on and screw to finger tight. Let sit 6-8 weeks before eating! Here is what I think is most critical: Fresh cukes Ice bath Boiling hot brine Very hot jars Clean rim So as a recap of ingredients 1) Make the brine in the quantity you need , just keep making it 2) Count on 6-8 medium size cukes to a jar 3) 2 large florets of dill to a jar 4) 2 large size garlic cloves, cut in half, ( 4 pieces) per jar