Refrigerator Dill Pickles

While I love mason jars (yes dorky - but great for so many things), I have no desire to start canning. At least not now. I have heard it is a very complex and a time consuming process. The trend right now that I am reading about on some of the blogs I follow is refrigerator pickles. With the extreme temperatures, people aren’t wanting to spend hours in the kitchen sterilizing jars and canning food. I found this recipe and have made them a couple times, so thought I would share with you.  It truly is easy! Only downfall is you don’t have much shelf life at all compared to when you can, so if you have pounds of cucumbers and need something to do with them - I would stick with traditional canning.

Last week, I mentioned my tomatoes aren’t ripening in the heat. Well, my cucumbers are hit or miss. I get some really green ones and some that stay bright yellow forever. Darn the heat! Here is a picture of the first cucumber I received from my garden earlier this season. Had to take a picture :)!

It really is so neat to be able to eat food that you have grown yourself. Not to mention the benefits of the food being free and the environmental benefits of food not having to travel to grocery stores. Do this with your kids, so they can begin to learn that food comes from the ground, not from a processing plant somewhere in the middle of nowhere and eventually in a processed box or jar on your grocery store shelves.

So now onto those pickles...

Refrigerator Dill Pickles 

From the Cooking for a Better Tomorrow kitchen, courtesy of Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water
2 pounds kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl. Add hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. Cool to room temperature.

Better Bonus Tip: I just added this all to a saucepan over medium heat and stirred until sugar dissolved.

Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container.

Better Bonus Tip: I didn’t see the need to dirty two dishes, so I put the cucumbers, dill and garlic directly in the mason jar, instead of a bowl for one night and then transferring to the mason jar later.  Plus, doing it this way, you can just gently shake the jar a couple of times instead of stirring.


Pickles will be good for one to two weeks.
 

Yum!!

~Ashley