Sweet Crisp Pickles(Aunt Crickets recipe)

Use small, unblemished cucumbers and wash off any soil. Cover whole cucumbers with a brine strong enough to float a whole fresh egg. (make the brine by adding coarse salt to cold water, dissolving enough salt to cause the egg to float). Let stand three weeks. (I keep a dish on the cucumbers to act as a weight and cover tightly with saran wrap). Remove the scum that forms daily. After three weeks, drain completely. Freshen by pouring boiling water over the cucumbers and let stand until cool. Again, drain completely. Cover with cider vinegar and let stand 10 days. Drain; cut cucumbers in chunks or slices; place a layer of cucumbers in crock, cover with sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and all-spice, then add a layer of cucumber, sugar and spices, and so forth. To a 6 gallon crock of cucumbers, I use one ounce of each of the spices, - whole cloves, whole all-spice and stick cinnamon. The amount of sugar is gauged by adding sugar until no more will dissolve in the juice. For a few days, additional sugar can be sprinkled on the top of the pickles if enough was not used initially. Let pickles stand to ripen. Crock may be stored (covered with saran wrap) in a cool room until pickles are all used, or in jars with lids but not sealed. An old fashioned crock is best for making pickles; if not available large glass container will do - do not use metal or enamel pots. After pickles have ripened, I like to put them in a large gallon glass jar and refrigerate - they are better ice-cold than at room temperature.