Making Pickles: a.k.a. An Abundance of Cucumbers
We have very productive cucumber plants, so I've made a few jars of pickles.
July 21 at 11:45 PM
I still have pickles from 2022 (a year when I made too many), and I was sure I wouldn’t be making new ones this year. But after collecting a full basket just a few days apart, I decided to make a few jars.
Homemade Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
- Cucumbers
- Grape Leaves
- Mustard Seeds
- Chilli
- Garlic
- Horseradish
Brine
- 3l water
- 1l white vinegar (I used 7% strength)
- 100g salt
- 200g sugar
Process
- Clean and sterilize your jars and lids. Prepare the brine by mixing the ingredients and bringing them to a boil.
- Put grape leaves and mustard seeds at the bottom of the jars.
- Stuff the jars tightly with cucumbers (I prefer to first put in the big ones, and then fill gaps with smaller ones).
- Add chilli, garlic and horseradish.
- Fill the jars with brine, leaving about 1 cm from the top empty.
- Close the jars.
- In a pot, bring water to a boil. Put the jars in the water, submerging them so they are covered by at least 3 cm. Keep jars in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
Notes
- Grape leaves contain tannins, which should help keep them crisp. This is my first time trying this, so I cannot attest to the effectiveness.
- I made my pickles with mustard seeds, chilli, garlic and horseradish, but you can also use dill, allspice, carrots, or other spices and vegetables.
- Submersion time depends on jar size: 10 minutes for 0.5l and 15 for 1l jars.
My cucumber plants and one of the baskets I collected