Today I’m going to share an easy pickle recipe. One of the best feelings is eating food fresh from the garden. I know food from my garden has not had any pesticides applied to it. I know it has not been sitting on a shelf for weeks. It has usually been picked that morning.
Abundant Cucumbers
Cucumbers seem to grow so well for us. I love fresh cucumbers and eat them nearly every day when they are in season.
We end up with so many that after giving away to friends and family, I have to find ways to preserve them. Pickling them is an easy way to spread out the abundance a bit. That means I can have pickles months later after the garden is finished and there are no more fresh cukes available.
Over the years I have tried my hand a few times at making pickles without really good success. Sometimes they were soft. Sometimes they weren’t tart enough. This year I found a recipe on the back of a bag of pickling salt and then I modified it somewhat according to the ingredients I had on hand.
The end result was delicious. Crisp tart dill-type pickles. They are so good. I have already started eating them. I know I am supposed to wait for winter, but they are so good. The ingredients are simple. The steps are easy. It is a forgiving recipe. It is the best easy pickle recipe.
Ingredients are cucumbers, pickling spice (or you can make your own), salt, and vinegar. You need mason jars with a lid or any glass jar with a lid. This recipe does not involve water bath or pressure canning. I have talked about other methods of preserving food in this post Benefits of Preserving Food.
This is a refrigerator recipe so you can use old mason jar lids, no need for new ones that are best saved for pressure or water bath canning. It is easy and quick to make.
Easy Pickle Recipe Ingredients
8 pounds of pickling cucumbers
8 cups of water
2 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon pickling spices per quart
1 cup canning salt
Mason jars with lids or any glass jar with lid
optional: fresh dill weed (fronds and stalks), garlic cloves
Steps
Prepare jars and lids by washing and setting out to dry. Remember they do not have to be sterile as we are not canning. This is a refrigerator pickle recipe.
Wash cucumbers, drain. Cut into spears, halves, or rounds. This depend on your preference and the size of your jars. Make sure to cut both ends off the pickle.
Pack cucumbers into clean jars, leave ½ inch headspace. Drop approximately a teaspoon of pickling spice into jars. If using dill weed sprigs or garlic, add them at this time as well.
Combine water, vinegars, and salt in non-reactive saucepan. Stir occasionally to ensure salt dissolves. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Pour pickling syrup over cucumbers packed into jars, leaving the ½ inch of headspace. Apply lids. I usually leave on the counter for a few hours before putting in the refrigerator. Wait 24 hours for best taste. Allowing the salty brine to penetrate the sliced cucumbers takes a little time.
This recipe is forgiving. I have tweaked it many times with excellent results. Sometimes I use sliced or whole garlic cloves. The end result is of course more garlicky.
Homemade Pickling Spice
If I am out of pickling spices I make my own. I use black peppercorns, mustard seeds, dill seeds, and a sage leaf. I add about 2 tablespoons of each of these ingredients to make my own pickling spice.
As I remove pickles from the jar to eat I replace with sliced cucumbers. This means I can keep using the brine and pickling spices over and over again as long as I still have cucumbers coming in. Saves money and they are delicious.
The cucumber slices are bright green in the beginning. This green color fades as the pickles are left in the brine.
This is my easy pickle recipe. Delicious and easy to make. Do not be afraid to modify this recipe. It is very forgiving. Use what you have on hand. If you love pickles, you will love these pickles. Let me know what you think after you try the recipe!
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