I love going to the local market on summer mornings and recently I discovered another love, pickling! My family members are die-hard pickle fans and no one has yet to recreate my grandma's legendary pickle recipe, but I hope I have least come close! Here's a quick and pretty easy recipe for pickling your own mini cucumbers.
First off, you will need:
- Mini cucumbers from your local market
- 4 cloves of garlic, diced
- Diced fresh dill
- 1 tsp of diced jalapeno peppers (if you prefer a little extra spice)
- 1 cup of vinegar (white or apple cider)
- 1 cup of water
- 1 1/2 tbspn of salt
- 2 or 3 sealable mason jars
If you are planning to store your pickles for a while, place the mason jars and their lids in boiling water for about 30 seconds. If you plan to keep them in the fridge and eat them soon after, you just need to make sure your jars are clean and rinsed out.
Dice you garlic and hot pepper and dill and add evenly to your jars. Then slice your mini cucumbers into long rectangles or if desired, into spheres. Make sure you cut off both ends of the cucumber as this tends to keep the pickles less fresh.
Place your long slices in your jars, standing them upright until the jars are full. Once your jars are stuffed tight, boil 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of salt in a saucepan. Once that is boiled, carefully fill each of your jars with the liquid, leaving about an inch at the top.
Seal your jars with the lids and place them standing upright in boiling water for exactly five minutes and then take them out immediately. Lightly tap each jar on the counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Your lids should all be tightly popped down when you press on the top but if your lid still clicks up and down when you press on it, this jar will need to be placed in the fridge and eaten first!
And that's all there is to it! Pickles definitely taste better with age, so you'll be set for all your upcoming fall dinner parties!
I'm excited to try mine and to try pickling other things - beets, baby corn and carrots perhaps?
Let me know how yours turned out!
xo,
Christy
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