Swiss or German pickles, yes, German-speaking, mine are smart, they can talk. Haha, no, but they are different from what is served here in Pennsylvania (can’t speak too much for other parts of the country since pickles are not usually high on my list of local fare when I travel 🙂 ) But since I am not a big fan of dill, personally thinking it goes well with fish and fish dishes, and should remain there… needless to say, the classic ‘Dill Pickle’ is not my thing.
I will move my sandwich to higher ground to avoid cross contamination with pickle juice, if I was served a pickle after all (If I remember, I usually ask for it to be left off)
Where I am from, pickles are sour. Period. Yes, there are spices used, but none is so dominant that it overpowers all others. We like balance (or close to). Go figure we’re neutral, ha!
So after not eating pickles (besides cornichon) for years, finally the revelation came to me: ‘Make them yourself, it can’t be that hard.’ And it isn’t, in fact it is less work than making jams or preserves.
And now, since I waited the required week to allow the flavors to blend, and I tried the result… Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for (drum roll): I am sharing what I did and how to go about it!
You can see the deviant pickle jar in the back left. I used carrots to completely fill the jar. Have not tried that one yet…
Ingredients
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
- 20-25 pickling cucumbers, not waxed
Per Jar: (use quart size wide mouth jars)
- 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seed
- 1/8 tsp brown mustard seed (for pretty)
- 1/8 tsp whole coriander seeds
- 3-4 black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 small garlic cloves, peeled
- 1-2 pieces of shallot (a piece here is about the size of a small to medium garlic clove)
Directions
- Bring water in a water bath canner to a boil, sterilizing the jars by cooking for 10 minutes.
- In a sauce pan in simmering water, sterilize the lids.
- In a large sauce pan, heat the water, cider vinegar and salt, stirring until salt dissolves. Bring to a simmer
- Scrub cucumbers and remove jars from water. Empty the water back into the canner, fill jars with the cucumbers, then add the spices to each jar. Fill with vinegar mix, leaving a 1/2″ head space. Center a lid on top and secure with a band. Repeat with remaining cucumbers and jars, when all are sealed, place on canning rack and lower into the boiling water of your water bath canner. Process for 10 minutes, then turn of the heat and let sit in the water another 5 minutes, then gently remove the jars and place on a heat proof surface*, careful not to shake or tilt the jars
- Wait till next day to check for seal, place any jars that did not seal properly in the fridge and consume those first.
- Wait one week before eating.
*The best way for me is to place the jars on a big wooden cutting board, since they have to sit undisturbed for a week, I can move the whole lot of them without having to tilt and jiggle the jars
Makes 4-5 quart size jars
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