If I could stand on top of a mountain I would yell “I love pickles!”. I really do. They’re pretty, they’re crunchy, they’re full of flavor, they hit the right spot in the afternoon when you need a snack, they’re great on a burger, they’re great at 4AM standing in front of the refrigerator.
How to Make Half Sour Pickles
With the cucumber plants in full producing mode right now we have been picking (and pickling!) quite a few kirby cucumbers. Did you know cucumbers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow? We currently have 6 mason jars full of pickles in the refrigerator! If you are in Brooklyn and are in need of a pickle, I’m your girl! I have been trying to get the perfect half sour pickles after years of swooning at all the NYC pickle places. Finally, I got it just right!
Half Sour Pickles Recipe
A few notes about these half sour beauties: -These don’t have vinegar in them. You see I have a fear of the smell of vinegar, I just get freaked out. So I have been desperately trying to figure out how to make delicious pickles with seasonings to make up for the lack of vinegar. THIS IS IT! In this one instead of using vinegar we use sea salt water! -I would leave these in your refrigerator at least 4 days before you bite into one. After that, good luck not finishing the jar in a day or 2. If you have control of your fingers going in the pickle jar though, these last for weeks. -Kirby cucumbers are the best for pickles.
Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
-If you don’t have Kirbies, that’s totally ok, but I recommend if you are using big cucumbers to cut them up into spears first (they will fit better into the jar most likely too). -Please don’t skip on the seasonings. These pickles soak alongside delicious garlic, fresh dill, peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaves. -This recipe uses a half gallon mason jar. The ingredients and amount of water to salt ratio in this recipe is for this sized jar. -If your pickles are soft and not crunchy when done, please check out Ball Pickle Crisp. It works great to keep that fresh crunch! Fresh kirby cucumbers just picked from the garden! One of the yummy herbs in this recipe is coriander seeds. If you have a cilantro plant and you neglect it, it will turn into coriander seeds. Awesome, right? I always do this every year so I get fresh coriander to last until next harvest season.
You can use a mortar and pestle to crush your dry ingredients or you can be like me and just use a tool (I don’t know the name of this so let’s just go with “tool”) to bash it all together. A rolling pin works great too. So does a hammer. Put your cucumbers in the jar, then add your garlic. Then your crushed dry ingredients. Pick a few pieces of fresh dill. Doesn’t it smell great? Then add your salt water and fresh dill. Keep filling your jar with water until your cucumbers are completely covered. In the jar above, a little bit of the salt water still needs to be added. Now it’s the hard part.. waiting for a few days to eat them! But when it’s time… it will be worth it! If you are making batches as you harvest, and you use similar jars sometimes it gets confusing to keep track of the ones that have been sitting the longest. To do this I use chalk or a Sharpie and write on the lid. #1 = eat first, #2 = eat next, #3 = eat next next.. etc.
Enjoy! 🙂 Looking for more cucumber recipes? Try my Sugar Glazed Cucumber Bread (yes you can bake with cucumbers!), Frosted Cucumber Cookies and Cucumber Tomato Salad! Update: I shared my favorite Pickled Okra recipe! Pin for later: If you try this Half Sour Pickles recipe, please leave a comment or share it on Instagram with tag #brooklynfarmgirl – I’m always looking for photos to feature and share!
