I made refrigerator pickles this morning–it is exciting to finally have a surplus from the garden, and these pickles are a great way to use up cucumbers.
I have an unreasonable fear of canning, stemming from childhood memories of exploding jars in my grandmother’s basement. I can’t imagine how she managed to make those jars blow up, but it has been instilled in me that canning is dangerous. This puts me at a distinct disadvantage when the garden bounty starts pouring in.
I was thrilled to discover refrigerator pickles–yummy, easy to make, and they keep in the fridge for weeks. And no canning! (Must be refrigerated, and they will spoil eventually.) Today I did a bare bones version:
Slice a bunch of cucumbers into a bowl.
Boil together 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 2 T kosher salt. Pour over the sliced cukes.
Put in fridge and wait at least a day (if you can) before snacking. I waited until they were barely less than burning hot before snacking…
If anyone has a great refrigerator pickle recipe to share, please do. I’m sure there are much snazzier versions than the above…
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Not at all helpful for more pickles, but I recently bought a copy of the 1951 edition of the Fanny Farmer cookbook (I wanted to make absolutely sure it was the edition I grew up with! very important) and in the back the previous owner had saved a bunch of “freezer canning” information, which was basically “LOOK! TUPPERWARE!” I almost loved it more than the book for a bit
yum! i’m a sour pickle girl, so i like to use less sugar and throw in some mustard seeds and some fresh taragon or dill.
I LOVE these pickled carrot sticks, and so does everyone I’ve given them to: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pickled-Carrot-Sticks-108763
Your recipe is pretty much the basic recipe my family uses, although our versions always have sliced onions in them. I hope to progress from refrigerator pickles into canned dill pickles this year. I too am intimidated by canning!
Here’s one from the book “Spice,” by Ana Sortun. I made it today for the 1st time, with beets and cukes–not in the same jar:
2# vegetables (cukes, green tomatoes, beets, pears, carrots, etc.), prepped as needed
1/2 c. salt
1 c. white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 T. brown mustard seed
2 T. black peppercorns
1/2 c. whole garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
1 lge bunch fresh thyme, washed & roughly chopped
In a large saucepan over high heat, combine 8 c. water with the salt, vinegar, and all the herbs & spices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 5 mins.
for cukes: cool the brine 3 hours, then pour it over & let stand loosely covered in fridge for 1 week. (ready to eat at this point or later) At 1 week, pour off 1/2 the brine & replace with water. Keeps up to 1 month in fridge.
Other veggies: put veggies in a non-reactive bowl & pour simmering brine over. Cover w/clean kitchen towel and cool on the counter for 3 hours. Refrigerate overnight. Ready to eat after 24 hrs; last up to 2 weeks.
Post something if you try it with an unusual vegetable . . .
Yum, it’s a running joke in our neighborhood cause our neighbor grows cukes (but hates plain cukes) so they give them to me to make them pickles with. But he loves to grow them in his front yard.
Careful canning is fun and safe. Check out pickyourown.org for FDA tested, tried and true reliable recipes.
I canned more veggies last year than I can even list and not a one exploded lid.
YUM-OH!!! Sounds sooo refreshing – Not a pickle thing – but sliced cucumbers are really lovely in a white wine sangria with sliced apples…….
When my large jar of dill pickles is finished, I save the juice and fill the jar up with sliced onions, carrots and pickling cuke slices. They taste great after a few days.