We’ve had a plethora of cucumbers in the past few weeks. Jarrett doesn’t really eat cucumbers, and if I’m the only one eating them, we needed to come up with a way to make them last for a bit longer. I’ve done very little canning in the past, but I’ve made a few jams before. Once I made a jam with a wax seal, which didn’t require all the steps of the longer canning process, and I went the traditional route for one batch, too. We’re both big fans of pickles, so I decided to try my hand at pickling our crop of cukes.
A little internet researching through pickle recipes proved that pickling is quite an involved process and often involves waiting several weeks before eating the delicious results. A little discouraged (I want pickles NOW!), my friend told me about her family’s method of refrigerator pickles. The process is still a little involved, but, luckily, the pickles don’t have to go through the whole canning process (i.e. you don’t have to sterilize the jars, boil them, and make sure they get a good seal). It basically only requires preparing the brine, pouring it over cut cucumbers and refrigerating for a week. Definitely a better pay-off for me than waiting two months to enjoy.
I pulled together a few recipes, taking all the best parts from each, to come up with one I thought we’d enjoy, gathered all our cucumbers (and some green beans, too!), and in less than an afternoon, I had five jars of pickles and dilly beans (another concoction I discovered in my googling)!
And to boot, all the pickling spices, garlic and dill looked so beautiful together. One week later, we had an excellent crunchy pickle. Want to try them out? You can find some recipes here and here.
Bungalow Bungahigh 
Wow Catherine, those look awesome. I wish I liked pickles more….maybe I can make some Christmas presents with your idea!
Wow, look at you — home decorating and remodeling, starring in cool apartment shows, pickling, jamming…. 😉 🙂
Sigh. I tried my hand at making pickles, too, but alas! They don’t look — or taste — nearly as scrumptious as I bet yours do. Not much crunch in them by the time they went through the whole canning process. Since our fridge is so small, I wasn’t sure refrigerator pickles would work so well, but I contemplated it. Maybe next time I’ll try these, though, small fridge or not, because what fun are soggy, crunchless pickles?!
p.s. My attempt at pickle making started because I was craving some good ol’ fashioned potato salad, and of course you need pickle juice for that. I suppose, then, since the pickles were just a way to get the juice I shouldn’t feel too disappointed. 😉
thanks for the reciepe!
Even easier – put cucumbers (sliced) into dish with lid (we have a glass one), pour plain white vinegar over (we do this with tomato & onion in as well). It is ready fast – although the pickle gets stronger over time, so the next day is the first time to really try it. Not a subtle or sophisticated pickle, but a fun & easy one.