Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Homemade Pickles

Its no secret that our house loves a good pickle. We go through at least 1 pint of half sours a week - probably more if I would buy them. So when I saw kirby cucumbers at Fairway last week I decided that I would try my hand at pickle making.

I used an online recipe for this first adventure. Unfortunately I didn't have any real canning jars at since it was late at night when I decided to finally work on this I had to improvise a bit. Luckily the recipe that I decided on didn't require it.

My Pickles
6 kirby cucumbers - cleaned and ends removed - sliced in half (make sure they are very firm - no soft spots)

2 c white vinegar
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c kosher salt
1/2 c fresh dill
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1 tsp celery seed

1) heat the vinegar mixture until it comes to a boil - make sure to use either a coated pan or a non-metal pan as metal will react with the metal.
2) place the cucumbers in the jars and fill with the vinegar solution
3) let sit until cool (about 1 hour)
4) place in the refrigerator for at least 1 day but up to 2 weeks