Pickle Insecurity

Created on 8/13/2009

Are you a little nervous about making your own pickles? Maybe you don’t have a canner or you just don’t want to go through the steps of processing. Maybe you just don’t have the time. Maybe you only planted a few vines and the harvest is only trickling in one cucumber at a time.

I planted cucumbers in containers this year and they have done well. I inserted some bamboo poles in the pot and periodically coax the vines up the pole. By coax, I mean I tie the vines with biodegradable twine to the pole. The little cucumber tendrils are not strong enough to hold the vine, but they follow along later. Every day I check the vines to see how they are doing and add more ties if needed as they climb. It seemed for weeks all I had was tiny little yellow flowers. Now, I have cucumbers dangling from the tee pee. One of the best ways to eat them is cold and pickled.

Try these refrigerator pickles- they take a few minutes to make and they will keep for a few months. You may want to take a batch on your next picnic. It’s a great way to use and eat fresh cucumbers.

Start with creating a vinegar marinade. This is a combination of sweet and sour- sugar and vinegar and some spices. Use either cider vinegar or white vinegar, but use vinegar with 5% acidity. I prefer the fruity tang of cider vinegar. This is enough for a quart jar.

Bread and Butter Pickle Marinade

3 cups cider vinegar
1 + 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pickling salt
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Heat the vinegar, sugar and spices and bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for a few minutes. Set aside while you chop the cucumbers.

The Good Stuff

3 cups fresh cucumbers, sliced
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1 hot red pepper, sliced lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, sliced

Wash and slice the vegetables and mix together. Don’t use waxed cucumbers from the grocery; pick some from your own vines. Pack the mixture into a clean glass quart jar.

Pour the marinade over the vegetables and apply the lid. Chill overnight cause they are best when cold. Store in the fridge and eat within 3 months.