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| Fresh Dill Head from the Farmer's Market |
Made these refrigerator pickles (i.e., ones that aren't canned and must be refrigerated) two summers ago as I was closing Tom's family cottage at Thousand Islands Park, after everyone was gone.
Sarah, her family, and I spent a week there. Tom joined us for the weekend.
I was on my own for several days, cleaning and closing, and enjoyed using up what was in the fridge and in the pantry. These are the last things I made, as you will see from how empty the refrigerator is when I am done.
I saved the pickle juice from jars we had while we were staying there. One was sweet and one was dill. And then bought a few cucumbers and a head of dill at the farmer's market. Still had a onion, and garlic, and then I used what I could find in the pantry: vinegar, sugar, celery seed, black peppercorns, crushed red pepper flakes.
Turns out it would be the last night I stayed there. His family has now sold it.
So, I am feeling sentimental about making these refrigerator pickles.
I plan to try to replicate them this summer. Planted a couple cucumber plants and they are starting to develop cukes. Finger-crossed, in a few weeks, I will have enough to make pickles.
---Barbara
Refrigerator Pickles Thousand Islands
Makes 2 small jars
1 large onion, or 2 small, chopped
4 large firm cucumbers or 8 small
fresh dill head (i.e., it includes the seeds)
12 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise
black peppercorns, about 2 t.
crushed red pepper flakes, about 1 T.
celery seed, about 1 T.
leftover pickle juice from 2 jars, one sweet, one dill (save the jars)
1 T. salt (use sea salt if you have it)
1 cup distilled vinegar (white or red wine or apple cider)
1 cup water (use purified if you have it)
1/4 cup sugar, use 1/2 cup if you want sweeter pickles
Note: Save the pickle jars and lids. You will be reusing them.
Chop the onions. Wash and dry the cucumbers.
Slice them thinly. And put them in a bowl large enough for all of the ingredients including the pickling liquid.
Add the chopped onions on top of the cucumbers.
In a saucepan, add the leftover pickle juices, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, the cloves of garlic, black peppercorns, crushed red pepper flakes, celery seed, salt and the head of dill. Note: if you think you need more liquid, then add more vinegar and water in a 1 to 1 ratio.
Bring to rapid boil. And boil for 1 -2 minutes. You want don't want to reduce the liquid, just boil it to eliminate any potential bacteria.
Immediately pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers and onions.
There will be lots of goodies in the bottom of the pan.
Add them to the bowl, too.
Cover and refrigerate.
If your cucumbers are not submerged, then add a plate to hold them down into the liquid.
Once completely cooled, then divide them evenly into the pickle jars you saved.
If you have excess, then you can put them in glass or plastic containers with tightly fitting lids.
Refrigerate.
These pickles must be kept refrigerated.
---Barbara
