REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

This was a fun day in my kitchen! I made my first batch of refrigerator pickles and I cannot be more thrilled with the results! They are crunchy, tangy and delicious!

I started with a trip to my garden where I gathered fresh pickling cucumbers and some fresh dill from my little herb garden. Ya’ll, that fresh dill smells amazing. It’s so good!

I came back to the kitchen and washed all my goods very well, gathered my onion, garlic, spices & vinegar from the cupboards and started prepping the veggies.

Once all my jars were packed, I started making my brine. This is an easy process and only takes a few minutes. I used a ladle to put the liquid into my jars. I followed the directions in the recipe and put my lids and rings on the jars and allowed them to cool. Once the brine had cooled, I put the jars of pickles into the fridge. We let them set for 48 hours before tasting. And boy oh boy! They are so good and crunchy!! The grandkids ate a whole jar when they came to visit this week. This is a keeper for sure, and we will be making these refrigerator pickles again.

”REFRIGERATOR-PICKLES”

Ingredients

4-6 pickling cucumbers, cut in slices Fresh dill, a few sprigs per jar 5c white vinegar 5c water 1 clove garlic crushed per jar 5Tb kosher salt (canning salt) 1 Tb sugar 5 tsp mustard seeds 1 Tb whole peppercorns Sliced jalapenos (optional for spicy pickles)

Directions

Pack cucumbers into hot, sterilized jars. Add several sprigs of fresh dill and one clove crushed garlic to each jar. Sliced jalapenos can be added at this time if you want spicy pickle.
Combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar, mustard seed, & peppercorns in pot and bring to boil. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers, leave 1” headspace. Remove air bubbles.
Place jar lids and rings finger tight and allow to cool. Once cool, put jars in refrigerator. Allow to rest for 24-48 hours before eating.
Pickles should last for 2-3 months in the fridge.
This recipe doubles easily for making more pickles.

I hope you will give these easy pickles a try, they are so good and worth the effort. This is also a great first step for those who are thinking of getting into canning and home food preservation.

Have a blessed day, my friend, we’ll chat with you soon!