Homemade Pickles In a Hurry

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

There is nothing like the taste of homegrown fruits and vegetables. If you have a successful vegetable garden at home, then you are probably in the midst of enjoying the fruits of all your labor right now. Even if you have a neighbor or a coworker with a green thumb, they may be dropping off a prodigious supply of zucchini, cucumbers or melon at your doorstep or desk. Towards the end of the summer, many fresh fruits and veggies ripen to perfection, and it’s the best time to enjoy a variety of seasonal produce.

In my extended family, we are lucky to have a few green thumbs. This seems to be the year of the cucumber and the tomato. I have room for a small plot in my yard, so we have been enjoying cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs almost nightly. Meanwhile, my in-laws practically have a full-scale farm on their property this year.

Last time we were there visiting, poppy took our older son out into the garden to look for the magic cucumber. Now the magic part is that after they picked it, the next time we come back, a new cucumber will grow back in its place. It really is magical for children to watch food being grown from the seed, and cucumbers do seem to have an almost magical way of multiplying. Just a few seeds will produce dozens and dozens with very little effort. As you can probably guess, my son didn’t want to let go of his magic cucumber for the rest of the visit until we took it home for dinner.

So we have been enjoying a weekly drop off of at least five cucumbers. In addition to serving them with our family favorite, ranch dip, we have enjoyed everything from Tzatziki (a greek yogurt and cucumber dip) to Panzanella (an Italian salad of bread, onion, cucumbers, and tomatoes). In fact, my father in law has so many cukes, he has been having trouble using them all up or giving them all away. I say, that’s when it’s time to make pickles!

An easy starter recipe for pickles is the quick pickle. Simply submerge your sliced cucumbers in a boiling brine of vinegar (I like the smoothness of rice vinegar but any light vinegar works), salt, and spices such as mustard seed, peppercorns, dill seed, and garlic, for at least one hour. No need to run out to the store to purchase a bunch of canning gear or spend hours waiting for them to cure in the refrigerator. You can make these pickles in the morning and they’ll be ready to adorn your turkey or roast beef sandwich for lunch. Plus, homemade pickles taste so much better than store bought!

But did you know you could make your own pickles out of a variety of other garden grown veggies? Green beans, turnips, beets, cauliflower, and peppers all make tart and crunchy accompaniments to salads or sandwiches. You can season them however you like, and even add a spicy kick to your pickles with red pepper flakes, or sliced jalapenos. You can even make watermelon rind pickles, a southern favorite. Just start with the very freshest vegetables, and you can keep quick pickles in the refrigerator for up to ten days.

Happy Pickling!

Serves/Makes: 11 cups

• 7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 8 teaspoons salt
• 3 heads of dill