I consider pickles my homies' food. Having grown up in NYC, I am intimately familiar with Katz's Delicatessen's pastrami, hot dogs, and pickles. Pickles are always a part of the package; they're served with everything. Little did I know how darn easy it is to make 'em the way I like 'em.
I like dill pickles slightly sweet and mostly sour, and these are not as easy to come by in markets. So my recipe includes honey, however this is optional. If you want the straight up dill sour pickle, just leave out the honey.
Note on fermentation: Traditional fermented pickles don't use vinegar. Instead they rely on a saltwater brine for beneficial bacteria to naturally create lactic acid and probiotics. So technically, refrigerator pickles are not fermented. But they are tangy. A quick way to determine if store-bought pickles are fermented or not is to look at the list of ingredients: if it has vinegar in it, it's not fermented. If it says salt, water, and spices (but no vinegar) then it's fermented.
You can probably use any kind of cucumber, but I purposely bought pickling cucumbers (also referred to as Kirby cucumbers) at the farmer's market. Just don't use cucumbers that have been waxed because that will deter the pickling process.
My pickles were tasty in only two days! But we'll keep them in the refrigerator for at least a few weeks (if they last that long).
Sarah says
Can I can these pickles for longer lasting?
Erica says
If you mean can you have them around for a while and the answer is yes!
Alchemille says
How many quarts/jars did you fill up with this recipe?
Thanks ;).
Lauren Ingmire says
This recipe is delicious. They make a nice bread and butter style pickle.
Thank you so much for all your recipes.
Kelli says
Pickled asparagus is the BEST! Don't steam or cook the asparagus just process them exactly as above and they are wonderful.
Erica says
Dana - yes, most definitely! I love pickled carrots. Zucchini, string beans, garlic. I haven't had pickled asparagus or radishes, but I can't see why not.
Dana says
can you pickle other things too, like asparagus, or radishes or even carrots???
Erica says
Carrol - I assumed it was to let the steam escape while the liquid cools in the refrigerator. In my trolling around the Internet, it seemed that every recipe that used the refrigerator technique for dill pickles that I use here, also left the jar uncovered for at least 24 hours. Of course, the refrigerator begins to smell like a pickling vat.
Carrol says
I love slightly sweet pickles too and want to try this recipe. Why do you leave the jar uncovered first?
Erica says
Oh, no worries about all that extra stuff. It's just what I like, and what I read others put in their cure. All pickles really need are salt and/or vinegar, water, and dill (if you're making dill pickles). You can certainly sub the honey out with another sweetener, or just leave it out if you don't want the slight sweetness.
That was my problem with pickling spices - I couldn't tell what was in there, and lots of them use black or red pepper, which I can't eat.
Kristy says
Well, how do you think these would work without the onion or garlic (we can't have either.) And we can't have honey, but maybe we could sub maple syrup? I know Frontier also sells pickling spices, but I'm not sure what's in them. Does the flavor of the onion & garlic make these? I'm wanting pickles, but bummed that they all have stuff we can't have!