Five Year Pickles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

12 lb. cucumbers
1 gal. white vinegar
8 lb. sugar
1 box pickling spices
14 tsp. powdered alum

Preparation

Make brine of 1 gallon of water and 1 cup coarse salt.
Pour over cucumbers; weight down.
Soak for 2 weeks.
Take out of brine and soak overnight in cold water.
Take out of water and slice 1/4-inch.
Mix alum in enough water to cover.
Soak for 24 hours. Don't rinse.
Heat vinegar to boiling point.
Pour over cucumbers and let set for 24 hours.
Have crock or jar ready; place layer of cucumbers, layer of sugar and spices until all sugar and spices are used.
Weight down and cover with cloth.
Can be used next day but the older they are, the better.
Don't add any vinegar; it will make its own.
I left them in the jar for a couple of months, then put in quart jars.
They do not have to be sealed.