In A Pickle

Yesterday I was back to making my final batch of pickles using up cucumbers I had on hand and to get some more experience working with vinegars and another method of canning food. The funny thing is that once again I was really hesitant and reluctant to make them, however once I got started it was a whole other story!

I really liked making pickles, perhaps more than making jams, chutneys and sauces. Maybe it is just me, I actually like savory foods far more then sweet ones, however there may be other elements of the process at work here too.

Making pickles is far more involved (at least it is for me so far) then making jams etc. Part of that may be because I have not made them before, the other part is the creativity. I enjoy using my brain and thinking about flavours, colours and how to influence the final results.

As usual I did lots of research before I started, found some general guidelines and then adapted, tweaked and did my own thing. To start with, cucumbers need to be soaked in ice water with sea salt to keep them crisp. Preferably this should be for 4 to 8 hours or overnight.

Cucumbers on ice in salted water

While the cucumbers soaked in the briny solution, I prepared some pickling spice - there are many variations, but I decided to use; cinnamon, mustard seed, bay leaf, dill seed, cloves, ginger, peppercorns, juniper berry and cardamon. Mostly because these were on hand.

I placed the spices into a small bag and tied it, then put this bag in with the water, salt and vinegar solution which was gently simmered for 15 minutes. As soon as the jars were sterilized and ready to go, I placed the sliced cucumbers inside, with dill and garlic then filled each jar with the vinegar brine. 

Cucumber Spears in jar

The last bunch of cucumbers I decided to make into a sweeter variation of pickle, so I added some honey, lemon and water to the vinegar solution along with dried dill herb. After thinly slicing these (with some shallots) and cooking for a few minutes in the solution, I placed them into a jar and poured the rest of the hot honey vinegar into it. 

Then processed each jar in a boiling water bath according to the recommended guidelines. Each jar sealed right up (I love when that happens) and now that job is behind me.

In the end, I made two types of pickles - 2 jars of garlic/dill  and 1 jar of bread and butter pickles. Each   smelled very different, but looked delicious! These are 1 litre jars, so we now have plenty on hand for the coming feasts and celebrations. 

And today I am looking around me wishing I had more cucumbers to make into pickles! The house always smells and feels warm, fuzzy and full of love when I am cooking. It's a great sense of accomplishment to see the cupboards full of homemade goodies as well.

Now, I have a feast to plan for next week - and everyone wants something different, so this will be fun!

Have a healthy day,

April

Finished jars of pickles.... cooling down