Making all your salt & vinegar dreams come true.
As far back as I can remember, I was sneaking olives and pickles out of my parents’ fridge and drinking the juice (the grand prize), with hands barely big enough to manage the jar.
My love affair with briny things has continued over the years and although I don’t drink the juice anymore (not that I’ll cop to anyway), pickled veg make a regular appearance in our salads and sandwiches and at snack & cocktail hour. Such a great way to enlivening the flavor of an ordinary dish and enjoy a little munch before mealtime.
These handsome refrigerator (which I will forever spell refridgerator – q: where does the ‘d’ in fridge go?) dill pickles can be whipped up in minutes with a few simple ingredients and a mason jar.
This recipe will make 1 x 16 oz mason jar but feel free to double, triple or quadruple the batch — especially as those adorable field cucs start springing up.
Just don’t expect these pickles to come out of the jar (no matter how long you leave them) with that yellow-green hue you’re used to seeing in store-bought jars. Most commercial brands contain colored dye (yellow 5) or polysorbate 80 (a synthetic water-soluble yellow liquid used in food/cosmetics). If you want to give the pickles a familiar glow without the additives or dyes, my suggestion would be to experiment with a little turmeric root.
- 8 cucumber spears (I used English cucumber - see below)
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1-2 tsp salt (see notes)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 8 or so rainbow peppercorns
- 2 garlic cloves, or to taste (see notes), sliced and partly crushed (I apply a bit of pressure on the garlic with a knife to activate the allicin and release more flavor)
- 8 or so fresh dill sprigs
- I used an English cucumber for this recipe which yielded 8 spears, enough for 1x16oz mason jar (1 pint), but you can use any cuc variety you like.
- Wash the English cucumber and then cut in half keeping peel on to create 2x4+1/2" length pieces. Cut each piece in half lengthwise and then quarter lengthwise for a total of 8 spears.
- Meanwhile, in a clean pouring bowl combine: vinegar, water, salt, sugar, mustard seeds, peppercorns, garlic and half the dill sprigs (make sure salt and sugar are dissolved).
- Arrange cucumber spears into a clean 16oz mason jar (they will be snug) and pour brine over top (moving a spear or two as needed to get all the good bits in there and topping the spears with a bit more water as necessary to cover them) and then tuck remaining dill pieces here and there.
- Seal the jar and place in the fridge for 48-72 hours (giving the jar a shake from time to time if you think of it) before enjoying.
- These refrigerated (refridgerated) pickles are not meant for the pantry (no sterilization etc. necessary) but will last up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
- Dare ya not to drink the juice.
Garlic: the garlic will become more pungent over time so go easy on quantity if that's not your thing.
Shape of the Pickles: if you have a mandoline slicer (or wonderful dexterity) you can slice the cucs thin to create sandwich style pickles instead.
Beautiful jars, Kelly! I literally grew on dill (more important in Poland than parsley or any other fresh herb) and the older I get the more I love it, discovering how good it is with many non-Polish dishes too. It’s refreshing, smells wonderful and has a sophisticated touch. I’m starting to think that dill is my favourite herb (well, maybe just after chives).
Since my mother (and now me too) always pickled cucumbers for long-term use, dried dill was always used (I still dry the dill I grow, especially the flowering one is perfect for pickles!), but for a quickly eaten jar fresh dill is a wonderful idea! I must test it soon.
Ooh can’t wait to try this one!
Yay! Please let us know how it goes Melissa; i hope you love them.
I often do this with beets though sans spices. Seeing these lovely pickled cucumbers I want to make them right away!
Hi Taruna, your beets sound delicious; the pickled veg possibilities are endless :) have fun with these, cheers.
Every summer at the cottage, we prepare a varient of Bloody Caesar cocktails. It’s essentially a blend of Vodka, Clamato (clam based tomato juice similar to V8), a healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce and tabasco, crushed black pepper, and a generous splash of pickle juice. Put all ingredients in a tall glass with ice, a lemon wedge, and a whole celery stalk to mix it all around. It’s kind of like the Canadian version of a Bloody Mary and Oh So Good, Eh!
now that’s a cocktail! and a great use of pickle juice if ever there were, eh. Thank you for the morning smile, loved your comment.
Glad to know someone else willing to admit they drank the pickle juice right out of the jar. When I first told Bobby (years ago) that I did that as a kid, he thought it quite weird. :) Well, I’m sure that’s not the only thing we did weird as kids. Ha Ha. I’m still a lover of cucumber pickles but having put any up in years. Thank you for sharing your recipe and very easy process. I love it! Pinning it so I can make a jar when my cucumbers come in this summer. Thanks Kelly!
weird is underrated :) hope you love these MJ! process is easy, the wait is not, haha.
I’m with you, I just love that briny liquid and the pickles are yummy too! I love that this makes 1 jar, perfect for a couple like JT and I (a jar of pickles may last some time if I don’t do something specific with them). I had to smile when I read the comment about the refrigerator, I too always add the ‘d’ and the spellcheck corrects me!
the sizing is fun for sure; we’re adapting to life as 2 over here as well (and the pleasures of a lower grocery bill, leftovers and a hot shower – hah!)
Beautiful pickles. it is funny that it’s fridge, and then refrigerator…
right? one of life’s great unsolved mysteries…