fresh, crisp, tangy dill pickles with no preservatives, chemicals or high fructose corn syrup
Nothing makes me happier than knowing I’m creating freshly made with love food that I know exactly what is in it and that I have treated it with respect for that item.
I like to stock up on pickling cucumbers when the farm stands are full of them in the summer, but you can find small salad cucumbers in the grocery stores all year long.
The process of letting your cucumbers sit for an hour with kosher salt helps them release their liquid, so they will stay crunchy and also add flavor. It’s important to use kosher or pickling salt.
You can cut your cucumbers into rounds or spears or even sandwich slices; cut them the way you like; these are your pickles, so add or eliminate and spice or herb to customize them and make them yours.
Make sure to cut the ends of your cucumbers off and discard them; the blossom end releases an enzyme that can make your pickles soft and not crunchy!
Happy Pickling!
Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Equipment
- 2 16-ounce jars with lids
Ingredients
- 1 pound pickling cucumbers
- 4 sprigs fresh dill
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar white or apple cider
- 1 tbsp sugar up to 1/4 cup
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
- ½ tsp dill seeds
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp celery seeds
Instructions
- Wash and cut your cucumbers into spears or circles; this is your choice for how you like your pickles.
- Place your cucumbers in a colander and cover with 2 tbsp kosher salt; rub the salt all around to make sure all the cucumbers have salt on them.
- Set the colander over a bowl or in the sink for one hour.
- Rinse with cool water for about two minutes and let sit in the colander while you make the brine and get the jars ready.
- In a saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, 1 tbsp salt, sugar, peppercorns, dill seeds, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and red pepper flakes to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes before you pour over your cucumbers.
- Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife, remove the skins and place the cloves in your jars.
- Add the fresh dill to the jars, 2 to 3 sprigs per jar.
- Pack the jars with your cucumbers.
- Pour the brine over and let come to room temperature.
- Place the lid on and place them in the refrigerator.
- These pickles with last up to 6 six months in the fridge.