The Best Pickles

My parent’s garden produced an avalanche of cucumbers this summer; our cucumber plants, on the other hand, shriveled up and died. Being the lucky recipient of said surplus, pickles were the first thing to come to my mind.  I like my pickles to be a bit sweet, a bit sour and a bit spicy, and this recipe fits the bill perfectly. In fact, these are so delicious that I can’t stop eating them and I have to resist drinking the pickling liquid straight from the jar…I think I may have read about a nouveau cocktail or two that incorporates pickle juice…must investigate.  

This recipe comes courtesy of the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market. I tweaked it a bit by adding in a few cloves of crushed garlic, and a few small dried hot peppers per jar. Use pickling cucumbers (such as Kirby) for best results, however any type will work - these are quick pickles and you don’t need to be that particular, but do choose firm cucumbers that are not too large.

This recipe will make 2 quarts but it can easily be scaled up if you too are faced with a mountain of cucumbers. I used regular-mouth quart jars because I could not find wide-mouth jars. If you are in a pinch, you can also reuse glass jars with lids that you may have in the house, just be sure to clean them really well first.

Slightly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles

1 small sweet onion, sliced thinly

2 pounds of medium picking cucumbers, scrubbed well and cut into ¼” slices

1 large bunch of dill, coarsely chopped (stems included)

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns

1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons coarse kosher salt

2 teaspoons dill seeds

Divide sliced onion between two 1-quart glass jars. (Add garlic cloves if using.) Pack cucumber slices horizontally in jars. Top each jar with dill.

Using mortar and pestle or resealable plastic bag and mallet, crush mustard seeds and peppercorns together.  Place crushed spices in medium saucepan. Add vinegar, water, sugar, salt and dill seeds.  Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. 

Ladle mixture evenly over cucumbers. Leave jars uncovered in refrigerator for 24 hours.  Cover jars tightly with lids. They will taste best after the third day. They will keep in refrigerator up to one month.