Making pickles was a really big dill Aug. 24 at the Dartmouth Senior Center.

David Wheeler, founder and president of Therapy Gardens in Brockton, led about 30 program participants in the process of making their own pickles from cucumbers. 

They cut up cucumbers and soaked them in Mason jars filled with brine made from salt, spring water, dill, garlic, coriander seed, mustard seed and white peppercorns. 

Mason jars are his storage containers of choice, partly because they “look cooler.’’ But he said other vessels can work, including spaghetti and old pickle jars. 

“I have jars all over the house,’’ he said with a laugh.

When the program ended, the attendees brought their jars of soaking cucumbers home to be refrigerated for three or four days before they transformed into pickles. The longer they soak in the brine, the more sour the taste, Wheeler said.

“This is a lost art,’’ said Betty Simmons of New Bedford as she watched the presentation. “Our parents used to do this all the time. My mother would pickle everything from my father’s garden.’’

For Dartmouth resident Nancy Jordan, the class offered the chance to keep up with her son’s hobbies. 

“He diddles in making pickles and wine and all that good stuff,’’ she said. “I thought I should catch up with him.’’

With fall approaching, Debbie Pontes of Dartmouth said she is drawn to making preserves and other traditional culinary activities. “That’s the best time of year’’ for that, she said.

Wheeler brings presentations to senior centers throughout the region, he said. In addition to pickle making, he leads classes on creating sauces, smoothies and chicken soup, among other offerings.

His classes have become popular, he said, and he sometimes sees the same people in attendance at different locations. 

“I feel like the Grateful Dead,’’ he said with a laugh. “People are starting to follow me around.’’

He offered an alternative use for one of the ingredients that drew laughs and cheers from the audience. 

“The brine also makes an excellent addition to a Bloody Mary,’’ he said. 

How to make your own pickles

Ingredients:

• Two tablespoons pickling or sea salt (not regular salt)
• Four cups spring or purified water
• Five to seven Kirby cucumbers (enough to fill one quart or two pint jars)
• One handful of fresh dill
• Three or four smashed garlic cloves, or two teaspoons minced garlic
• One teaspoon each coriander seed, mustard seed, mixed or white peppercorns
• Pinch of red pepper (optional)

Instructions:

Submerge cucumbers in ice water and leave in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to one day. This helps cucumbers stay crisp.

When you are ready to make the pickles, do the following: 

1. Wash your cucumbers, cut off the ends and halve them lengthwise.
2. Dissolve your salt in the water
3. Put the cucumbers in the jar
4. Put the minced garlic in the jar, add spices, then pour the saltwater mixture on top. If you have any water left, discard it.
5. Add a few pieces of fresh dill on top.
6. Make sure your cucumbers are completely covered in water and close the jar.
7. Put it in the refrigerator. Let them sit a few days, at least three or four days, before eating.