Those aren't cucumbers, they're pickles!

It's been a hectic past couple of weeks!  Now, thanks to new kids and new germs, I am home sick.  At least I can finally get caught up on some blogging.

As I promised in a previous post, we had to make pickles due to comments from kids that what we had growing were pickles, NOT cucumbers, lol.  :)  It's amazing (and a bit disturbing) how far we as a society are removed from the process of gardening and how veggies and fruits grow.

During my last week with summer camp, we finally had enough ripe cukes at once to make pickles.  This was a 'wing it' activity, as I have never made pickles before and of course, did not try it out ahead of time.  The aspect of 'canning' was definitely NOT an option.  I know nothing about that stuff, and it takes months, as well as an array of unhandy supplies to can foods.  Luckily, I found a recipe for 'refrigerator pickles.'  Here is a link to the recipe:  Refrigerator Pickles

The great thing about this recipe is that it only takes 3 days in the fridge and they are ready to eat!  The other thing about it is, it doesn't have a bunch of ingredients or time consuming processes, as canning does.  The basic ingredients: cucumbers, vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, and dill.

We began by going over the ingredients in the recipe.  The kids had to smell each ingredient, lol.  Which was fun...vinegar?  Garlic?  Sure, take a big sniff!  Many commented that the vinegar smelled like Easter eggs.

On this day, we had 30 kids, between the ages of 6 and 7.  This activity really held their interest well, even though not each kid was able to do an action.  Looking back, I could have done the same activity in 2 groups.    Yet, summer camp is very hectic and hard to plan for, never knowing how many kids, juggling field trips, etc.

The kids were amazed by the inside of the cucumber and all of the seeds.  I explained that each seed, if later planted would grow into another cucumber plant, thus providing us with many more cucumbers, and then many, many more seeds.

I tried to crop this pic, but couldn't find it, I swear I am wearing a skort, lol, shorts are underneath!

I picked kids that were sitting quietly and raising their hand to add ingredients.

We added the cucumbers, garlic, and dill to the container.  Then added the other ingredients to the pot.  The ingredients in the pot had to be boiled then cooled to room temperature.  Therefore, we finished off the activity later in the afternoon.

We also did a chart, each kid predicting whether they would or would not like the pickles.  Three days later, the pickles were ready!  I was worried and honestly, a bit scared to try one.  But, they were perfect!  Nice and crisp with a good balance of saltiness and tartness.  We had enough for each kid to have a couple as well as all the teachers.  The teachers liked them better than the kids and many requested the recipe.  Some of the kids didn't want to taste them. I had hoped that because they were so involved with so much of the process...from cucumber seed to pickle...that they would more apt to give it a try.  Well...not so much the case, until I pulled out the camera to take pics of the kids that were tasting!  Then, everyone had to try one, lol.  Whatever works!

Later that day we went back to the chart and filled in the column for "Did you like the pickles."  Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the chart, but 5 kids liked them that predicted they would not.  Pretty cool!  I have already done this activity again with my new pre-k crowd, and it has also been a hit.  I highly recommend this for any age, and don't forget, even if you don't have a garden, you can still make your own pickles!  :)