you really should use a safe and tested recipe when canning - you wouldn't
want to skip such a simple step and end up sick! ;-)

http://www.homecanning.com/can/AlRecipes.asp?R=113

this link is a good recipe, and it's safe, and it has a boiling water bath
to seal the jars,

Kathi


"Jacqueline" > wrote in message
...
> We never hot bath our pickles and they turn out great. Make the about
> every other year and always have a few left over. The first year my
> mother canned bread and butter pickles we all liked them so much that
> she had to put a limit on them and we only got to open a jar on our
> birthdadys, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. LOL needless to say
> we made many more pickles the next year. Here is the recipe we use.
>
> http://www.mountain-breeze.com/kitchen/canning/1.html
>
>
> Jacqueline
>
> On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 23:05:22 GMT, Allan Matthews
> > wrote:
>
> >Last summer, I wanted to make some pickles (firsst timer). Went to
> >the super market and bought a package of pickling mix made by the Ball
> >Company. It involved simply heating a mixture of vinegar and water
> >with the rpoduct and putting the sliced pickles in a jar with the
> >liquid. I did not know whether the pickles would spoil or not, no
> >instructions were given in the package, so I did the water bath thing.
> >Before I did this, the pickles tasted great and were crisp. After
> >wards, when I opened a jar the pickles were way to "vinegary" and very
> >soft..
> >
> >Would the pickles have been ok if I had not done the water bath and
> >how long woiuld they have lasted?
> >Want to do more pickles this next summer. TIA, Allan
>
> Jacqueline
> http://www.mountain-breeze.com
> Recipes for all your needs