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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Quick & Easy Deli Style Pickles for the Refrigerator {No Canning}


"On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally's cellar."
~ Thomas Jefferson

When you want a crisp, homemade, juicy pickle without all the canning apparatus, then here is an easy recipe. I scaled it down to 1/2 gallon so simply double it should you like to make a gallons worth and so forth.


First, you make your brine. Simply boil together 1 quart of water with 1/4 cup of kosher or sea salt.

"The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine."
~ Wikipedia


While you are waiting for the brine to boil, add to your one half gallon jar, 1 tablespoon of pickling spices.


Next add a few garlic cloves (at least two or more).


Now, add 1/4 cup of cider vinegar.


Next, add a few fresh sprigs of dill. If you don't have any fresh, just add 1 tbsp. of dried.


Lastly, stuff your washed cucumbers into the jar.


Add enough boiled brine to the jar to cover all your pickles (leaving about an inch from the top of rim).


Cap your contents and let sit on your sink for two days.


Now, refrigerate and eat! :)

Slice them in fours and place pickles on your dish, right next to those summer sandwiches. Delicious! 

25 comments:

  1. Those look great! Do you think it would work with larger cucumbers cut into spears?

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    1. Yes, I did those on my Amazonian cucumbers! :)

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  2. Wow, this took me back to a happy place in childhood! I love, love pickles and yours look so yummy that I could eat the whole jar in one day. My mom used to make these and she calls them "summer pickles". Thank you for leaving a sweet comment on my tea party :)

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  3. I made these this morning. The garlic is starting to get a bluish cast. Is that okay? They smell wonderful!

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    1. Hi there :)
      Actually, that has never happened to me before so I did some sleuthing. First off, GOOD NEWS~ it is completely safe to eat. The reasons that garlic sometimes turns blue can be from the following ~ Your garlic may be immature (not completely dried), or table salt will sometimes do this (I use sea salt), Copper pots will do this too so I recommend stainless steel, and/or stir the brine with a plastic or stainless steel spoon as copper, iron or tin can cause this reaction too.

      I found this information here if you would like to research further:

      http://www.ehow.com/how_12146225_prevent-blue-garlic-pickles.html

      But, the end result is that they are FINE TO EAT. Let me know how it turns out :) ~ JES

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  4. They are pretty darn good. No more store bougt pickles for me!

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    1. Excellent! Thanks for letting me know!!! :)

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  5. Thanks for linking up @CountryMommaCooks party hope to see you again tomorrow : )

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  6. JES,

    We are down to our last pickle already! My family sure enjoyed them! I will make them again this week. How long can you safely keep them in the fridge? Thank you for sharing a most delicious recipe!

    Dee

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    1. Hi Dee, Thanks for the update! It makes my day :)

      As far as how long they last, I really can't say. I keep mine for awhile (months) knowing there is vinegar and salt and they are refrigerated. Until they look or smell weird, I wouldn't be too concerned.

      Hope this helps!

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  7. This looks wonderful - I usually just can mine - but we go through them SO fast and I would love to try some of these..... I am bookmarking this. Thank you for sharing it.... :)

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    1. I can some for the future and we make these for the "present" :) Hope you like them!

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  8. I am going to try these out. I may cut back on the sugar as Joe doesn't like them too sweet. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

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    1. Of course you can cut out the sugar but these aren't sweet pickles at all... Hope your hubby likes them :)

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    2. I don't see sugar amount listed in above ingredients?

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    3. You’re right 😂 it’s salt! Not sure what happened there?

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  9. Wow! I never knew making pickles was so easy! (I'm brand new to these type of things, but I'm learning fast.)

    What are pickling spices made of? Is it something we can make ourselves?

    Thanks,
    ~Raquel
    www.atthenewlyweds.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Raquel, they are very easy to make! And yes, you can make your own! That gives me an idea for a new post :) Thank you for sharing!

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  10. Yum! My hubby and son would love these :) They are pickle monsters! hee hee Thanks for sharing with Rose of Inspiration, my friend.

    I am so sorry I did not get to visit your party this week. Sunday my church celebrated its 40th anniversary and then yesterday and today we had VBS and it goes from 8:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon and tonight is the closing program. Lets just say I have barely had time to think clearly! :)

    Happy hugs, my dear!

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  11. JES, I know you are busy with family, but if you see this, I was just wondering if the cider vinegar is like raw apple cider vinegar. I have a bunch of cucumbers that I need to do something with, and these look great! I just didn't know about the cider vinegar.

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    1. Yes, that would work and be more healthier :)

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    2. Thanks! I'm going to make these this morning.

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  12. Thank you for the recipe and step by step instructions. I made them, they turned out wonderful, and will make them again year after year!

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    1. So glad they turned out and you liked them! I appreciate you sharing this! :)

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