Cascading Kitchen Notes
Notes
Refrigerator Pickles
4-5 lbs pickling cucumbers
The brine recipe will make 2 each ½ gallon jars of refrigerator pickles. (1 gal.) If you don’t have enough cucumbers to make a gallon of pickles, store the prepared brine in the refrigerator in a glass jar until the next batch of cucumbers.
Brine:
Combine in a saucepan:
- 6 cups apple cider vinegar ( not the expensive kind…the regular gal. jug of 5% vinegar. Make sure it’s fresh from this year so it truly is 5% acidity.)
- 6 cups sugar
- 2 tsp celery seed
- 2 tsp mustard seed (I used black mustard seed)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- Bring the brine to a boil and then turn down to simmer for five minutes.
- Cool
Making the pickles:
- Wash the cucumbers in cold water, scrubbing them and removing the blossom end.
- Slice the cucs into thick rounds--1/4"-3/8"
- Place sliced cucumbers in a large colander.
- Sprinkle ½ cup canning salt, or salt that does not contain iodine or anti clumping agents, over the cucs and stir a bit
- Place the colander in a bowl to catch the liquid that will run off.
- After at least 2 hours, or overnight, rinse the cucs with cold running water.
- Taste a slice. It should be pretty salty. Don’t worry, it will blend with the brine.
- Place the rinsed cucs in a glass jar, cover with cooled brine.
- Place them in the refrigerator with a tight lid, giving the jar a good shake several times a day to stir the spices.
Now you get to practice delayed gratification. Wait a week before you eat them! Enjoy.
They’ll last about 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Don’t use your fingers when retrieving pickles or you’ll foul the whole jar. Use a fork or tongs.