Place a small plate inside bowl on top of cucumbers to keep them submerged. Let stand at cool room temperature or in refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours.

On the second day: Prepare jars as described in
General Rules. Drain cucumbers,
rinse, and drain again. Bring
vinegar, water, and 1 tsp. Kosher
salt to a boil.

Lift jars out of hot water one at a time, draining water. Fill with cucumbers (C). (It helps to lay jar on side and fill edges first, then center -- this keeps cucumbers from falling over.) If desired add 2 cloves garlic and 2 or 3 sprigs dill to each jar. Sprinkle 2 tsp. pickling spice into quart jars. (If you're going to store pickles for longer than a month, rather than adding spices directly, put them in a cheesecloth bag and simmer in pickling liquid for 5 minutes. Remove before filling jars.) Fill with boiling pickling liquid. Leave 1/2-inch headspace.

Slide a nonmetallic spatula
or chopstick between cucumbers
and jar; release air bubbles
by pressing gingerly on cucumbers.
Repeat 2 or 3 times.

Wipe rim and threads of jar
with a clean, damp cloth. Remove
lid from hot water and place on
jar. Screw band down, just until
resistance is met. As each jar is
filled, set it onto rack in boilingwater
canner. Keep canner water
at a simmer.

After all jars are filled and
placed on rack, bring water to a
boil. Lower rack into canner.
Water level must cover caps on
jars by 1 to 2 inches. If needed,
add more boiling water.

Put lid on canner. As soon as
jars are lowered, start counting
time. Return to a boil. Process
quarts 15 minutes, at a gentle
but steady boil.