Dill Disappointment

This summer I worked hard, canning lots of pickles. I  made a ton of dills because our family and friends love them and I like to share them. Well....sometimes, just because something looks great (and you spent a lot of time on it) doesn't mean it tastes great. 

I opened one of my dill pickle pints the other day and thought they tasted awfully salty. Borderline, disgusting. I opened another one, hoping one jar was just "off." Nope, strike two. After opening four, I decided all of my dill pickles were NOT my usual delicious canning creations. Not even close. 

So Tyler, Mason and I loaded up the wagon with all of the dill pickles and took them out to our compost pile. At least they can be useful out there. 

Makes me sick to think of the hours I spent putting these together. Ugh! I think the problem was I used apple cider vinegar (which I have done in the past) and I increased the amount of brine I made (and probably used the wrong salt:vinegar ratio). Live and learn...If you happen to have a jar of my 2013 dills, please throw them out!

After our pickle dumping, I pulled my two younger boys around to the back to see the goats in their back pen. Ashley built a new pen for Waylon and Ziggy in the back because they have eaten almost everything in the front pen. 

In other news, the South Carolina State Fair opens today. I entered several things in the competitive Home and Craft Division. Two blue ribbons for Okra Hill: my blackberry jelly and my molasses-ginger cookies (my third year in a row earning a first place for those!). I earned four second places: whole dill pickles (thank goodness the canning is not judged on taste!), zucchini bread and butter pickles, muscadine jelly, and tomato-basil jam.