There is something sublimely delicious happening right now: it’s pickle season! We are here to dispel any misconceptions that you might have about making pickles, because they are incredibly easy and so very worth the wait. Our beloved Aunt Jenny (only a few years older than myself) has a most excellent garden in Salem, UT. It is so excellent, in fact, that Blake and I find ourselves green with envy each time we visit her amazing home. In her fertile mountain soil, her garden produces only the finest and most exquisitely beautiful of fruit and produce (think Martha Stewart Magazine). In discussing the supremacy of her garden one day, her pickling method (which is pretty standard) came up. We tasted one of her delightfully zesty pickles and have been hooked ever since.
There is, indeed, a pickle season. We suggest giving your local Asian market, Sprouts, or farmer’s market a call periodically, starting at the end of May, to ask when they’re pickling pickles are on sale. We find ours for a good price (99 cents to $1.50/lb) at our local Asian Market. You can absolutely get them cheaper if you’re on the lookout. You want the short, stocky pickling cucumbers, sometimes called “Kirby’s.” You never want to use a waxy cucumber for pickling. Look for pickles that are uniform in size, heavy and firm, and straight (you will fit more spears side-by-side in each jar):
We put plenty of dill (also bought at our Asian market, 59 cents/bunch, we used 3 bunches) in each jar before adding the pickle spears:
We also enjoy some heat, so we use quite of few whole dried red peppers (usually found with the Mexican spices):
Your kids will LOVE helping you make pickles. Let them drop garlic and stuff each jar with dill. Be sure not to fill your jars too full to the top:
There are a few items of equipment that will help making pickles a cinch (unsponsored): a large enamel canning pot, a rack for lowering and removing jars into the water bath, a jar grasper (?) for allowing you to handle hot jars, a funnel for getting brine into jars without a mess, and a magnetic lid grabber (?) for handling hot lids. The set we have can be purchased on Amazon for about $60. We used 8 wide-mouth pint jars (cost is about $10 for 9 jars at Walmart) for this batch of pickles. We aren’t sure we love wide-mouth jars for pickles as they are shorter and only allow for a shorter pickle.
Six weeks will seem like forever, but good things come to those who wait and you will have some fantastically zesty pickles to slap along side your sammichess (our kids’ pronunciations surface sometimes) and burgers, like this Perfect Burger.
As you prepare and enjoy these with your family, teach them about some of the health benefits of homemade pickles:
- Cucumbers offer a good amount of fiber, which is retained even after pickling. Fiber helps your body digest things properly and keeps your digestive tract clean.
- Cucumbers also provide your body with iron, which helps your blood to oxygenate your body.
- 8 c. water
- 4 c. vinegar
- ½ c. kosher or sea salt (do not use table salt)
- 8 lbs pickling cucumbers (sometimes called "Kirby's)
- 16 whole cloves garlic
- 2-3 bunches fresh dill
- whole dried red peppers (6 for hot or 2 for mild spice)
- You will need 8 sterile canning jars with lids (wash with soap and water or in dishwasher).
- Mix the water, vinegar and salt in large pot.
- Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to low boil.
- Meanwhile, rinse and dry your cucumbers. Cut into spears, discarding the ends.
- Drop 2 cloves garlic, 2-6 red peppers, and ¼th bunch (or more) dill into each jar.
- Pack 8-10 spears tightly into each jar.
- Ladle the hot brine into each jar, being careful not to overfill (leave ½ inch space at the top).
- Screw lids on jars, only until the lids give you some resistance (they will finish securing in the water bath).
- Lower jars into the water bath in batches and let process for 15 minutes (water should be at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. It is not uncommon to have a jar break). Remove each jar using jar tongs.
- You will hear popping sounds from the jar lids as they cool. This means that the lids are securing properly.
- After jars have cooled, remove the outer lid ring and test the seal. If it comes off easily, then that jar won't have the proper shelf life.
- Let stand 6 weeks before eating.
Do you need to use special pickles? I just tried the ones from my garden? Also I bought pickling salt? Finally, for the water bath…. Is it just water in a pot? At what temp?
Thanks 🙂 I was so proud of my first batch!!
Hi, Sierra! I’m not sure what kind of pickles you grow in your garden (I’m SO jelly!), we use pickling pickles (sometimes called “Kerby’s”) from the grocery store. We use kosher salt but you can absolutely use pickling salt. Yes, the water bath is just water in a large stock or canning pot… as long as it holds enough water to boil your jars, that’s all that matters. The water should be boiling when you add your jars of pickles. Adding the jars to the boiling water will naturally bring the water temp down a bit to a softer boil. Congrats on a successful first batch of pickles and thanks so much for the comment!