Bless Her Heart

Southerners develop a passion for several particular types of food – anything pertaining to bacon, practically anything fried, anything that contains sour cream or cream cheese, and…

Pickles…

I absolutely love pickles.

But I don’t like cheap, store-bought pickles…especially those containing fancy five-syllable long ingredients.

Why ruin fresh cucumbers by doing that to them?

Yet, fancy pickles can cost a fortune…

And so I’ve learned to making my own perfectly crispy, crunchy refrigerator pickles instead.

Unlike canning your own pickles, refrigerator pickles do not require

• any type of “secret” ingredient that will extend shelf life or give them a brighter color (as store-bought options do)
• heating up your kitchen in an already hot and humid summer
• past experience
• prior canning expertise
• specialized equipment.

And many of us, though we born in the South, watched as our mothers and grandmothers and perhaps even great-grandmothers made more than their fair shares of homemade pickles and other canned goods back when you were a kid.

But never had the privilege of – or perhaps better said, took opportunity of – learning how to can pickles and other vegetables ourselves…

And in all honesty, how many of us be willing to spend all of that time and effort that we saw them pour into this labor of love…after all, they didn’t have Netflix.

Perhaps another intimidating lost art…

Making refrigerator pickles is actually not a recipe, but a technique.

Simply brine sliced cucumbers in some sort of homemade concoction in your fridge for at least 24 hours…while your fairy godmother of a refrigerator to perform its magic.

That’s really all there is to it.

And this is true…regardless if you want them to have a sweet or sour or spicy flavor.

Simply tweak the ingredients in the recipe – not that there even is a recipe – until you end up with pickles that taste exactly like you want…instead of hoping that someone else “got the recipe right.”

Cucumbers: The best cucumbers for making refrigerator pickles are “pickling cucumbers”…(go figure, right(?!))…

These cucumbers often are called Kirby or salad cucumbers at the grocery store or produce market).

When shopping for cucumbers, look for thin cucumbers. Thin cucumbers offer the best texture and flavor. They are also easy to slice.

However, if you are not going to peel your cucumbers  before pickling them, opt for cucumbers from a farmer’s market or English cucumbers that have not been coated with wax coating to preserve their freshness and color.

The cucumber skin should be firm, with no deep blemishes. 

Also look for consistently sized cucumbers, so that your pickles will be uniform in size.

Pretty much all cucumbers taste the same, but pickling cucumbers can tweak that ordinary tasting cucumber into a flavorful treat…depending on which herbs and spices you use to flavor the brine…as well as what you use to create the brine.

• Herbs and Spices: Herbs and spices often used in pickling include celery seed, cloves, pepper, red pepper and turmeric. What spices and herbs you add will depend on personal preference and the type of pickle that you are making.
• Salt, mustard seeds and sugar are all three typical ingredients in almost every pickle recipe out there.
• Pickle recipes may seem to call for ridiculous amounts of salt, but that salt is required for the pickling process.
• Mustard seeds make the pickles in the jar not look so lonely, if nothing else.
• Sugar helps balance all the savory flavors, especially the sourness of the vinegar.
• Onions: Sweet onions = such as Vidalia or Walla Walla = are ideal. If these are not available, consider using shallots. While you’re shopping for onions, you might also want to grab some fresh dill and garlic/
• Vinegar: You can use either white or apple cider vinegar. White vinegar adds a strong, sour flavor to your pickles. Cider vinegar is sweeter and has a bright, fruity flavor.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

• 6 sliced cucumbers
• 2C thinly sliced onions
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1½C vinegar
• ½tsp salt
• ½tsp whole mustard seed
• 1½C sugar
• ½ tsp of each spice that you choose to use – celery seed, cloves, red pepper flakes,  turmeric (more on this below…don’t worry)

Step 1: Prep the cucumbers: Cut cucumbers into ¼″ thick slices. Slice any onions at this point also. 

Layer the sliced pickles (and onions, if using) into three or four separate pint jars. (You could also plastic containers, as long as they have airtight lids.) Make sure to leave enough room for the herbs, spices and brine to be added later.

Step 2: Make the brine: Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, Cook and stir just until the sugar and salt dissolve. Let cool to room temperature.

Step 3: Add the brine to the cucumber mixture: Pour the brine over the cucumbers, leaving a 1/2″ or so at the top of each jar. Cool. Cover tightly. Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.

To Store: Refrigerator pickles recipe will stay good for as many as six weeks as long as they are stored correctly in the fridge.

You’d probably be better off if you grab a permanent marker at this point to write down the date before sticking the finished pickles into the fridge. You already have enough crap to keep up with, right(?!),,,

The pickles will lose some of their crispness towards the end of their “shelf” life.

Check to make sure that your pickles don’t have an odd smell or appearance before using them. If they do, toss them.

Also if you add garlic to the pickles, do not keep them for more than two weeks.

Recipe makes enough for 2 pint-size jars or one quart-size jar. 

Variations:

—Bread and Butter: slightly sweeter than your average pickle, perfect for sandwich-making…Herbs and Spices: 2C sugar, 2C vinegar, 1Tbsp mustard seed, 1tsp celery seed, ¾tsp turmeric, ¼tsp cloves

—Spicy: Add crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

—Sweet: Herbs and Spices: 2C white sugar, 2 1/2 C vinegar, ½C brown sugar, 1Tbsp mustard seeds, 1tsp celery seeds

Other veggies

Other fruits and vegetables that you can pickle include apples, carrots, green beans, radishes and zucchini.

Pickled Apples: 2 thinly sliced apples, ½C water, ½C honey, ½C vinegar, 3 whole star anise, 3 cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1tsp kosher salt, 1tsp whole allspice, 2 bay leaves, 1tsp whole peppercorns

Pickled Carrots: 1# sliced carrots, ¾C sugar, ¾C water, ¾C vinegar, 1/8C mustard seed, 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves

Pickled Green Beans: 1¾# trimmed fresh green beans, 1tsp cayenne pepper, 4 garlic cloves, 4tsp dill, 2½C water, 2½C vinegar

Pickled Radishes: 1# radishes, ½C water, ½C vinegar, ¼C sugar, ¼C brown sugar, 1Tbsp mustard seed, 1tsp kosher salt, 1tsp whole peppercorns, 2 bay leaves

Pickled Vegetables: 1C cauliflower florets, 1C thinly sliced onions, 2C thinly sliced cucumber, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, 4 quarts ice water, 1½C sugar, 1½C  vinegar, 1/2tsp celery seed, ¼tsp ground cloves

Pickled Zucchini: 1½# thinly sliced zucchini, ½ thinly sliced onion, 2C vinegar, 1½C sugar, ½Tbsp mustard seed