When I first started my little homestead I jumped head first into ALL the things, canning one of them. I was surprised to learn that you can make pickles without canning (no special equipment or exploding jars!) and minimal ingredients. Even your kids can help! These are easy refrigerator dill pickles made with cucumbers (but you can try this brine with any cut up produce from the garden!)
All you need are some cut empty glass pint jars with lids, pickling cucumbers (or ones you can cut to fit), water, vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, dill (fresh or dried…I use both), and pickling spice (or your own blend of mustard seed & peppercorns).
First you need to wash your produce well. (We love the fruit & veggie wash we use! It’s fast, easy, & non-toxic. In fact, it removes toxins!) Decide how you want your pickles & cut your cucumbers so that they fit in your jars. I like to tuck fresh dill heads, from my garden, in the bottom of mine, but you can also use dried.
Cucumber bath
Some of our ingredients…most ordered on Amazon
Cutting & stuffing our jars with dill & cucumbers
In a non-reactive pot (see notes below) put in the rest of your ingredients, and heat just until the salt & sugar dissolve. Remove from heat & let cool to room temp (add dill vitality oil here if that what you are using). Ladle brine into jars, making sure that each jar gets some garlic and spices, and that cucumbers are covered. Screw on lids and place in fridge! You did it! Now the hardest part…
Brine cooling
Waiting. The longer you wait, the better the flavor! You could technically eat these in 24 hours but I advise waiting at least a week, if you can. Like things spicy? Try adding a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the brine and/or a jalapeño.
Waiting for brine
Refrigerator Dill Pickles:
Ingredients (per jar)
3 pickling cucumbers 4-4 1/2″ long, but no longer
1/4 oz fresh dill a few sprigs per jar (or a tablespoon of dried OR a drop of Dill Vitality oil)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic crushed with the side of a knife
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp pickling spice OR
1/2 tsp whole mustard seeds
1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
Instructions
Wash cucumbers and cut into spears or slices. Pack into a wide-mouth pint-sized canning jar, or any clean glass jar. Since these are refrigerator pickles a canning jar is not necessary. Tuck several sprigs of dill in between the cucumbers.
In a non-reactive saucepan (see note), combine the vinegar, water, garlic cloves, salt, sugar, mustard seeds, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Pour liquid over cucumbers in the jar. Make sure to include all the mustard seeds, peppercorns, and garlic. (If making multiple jars, include two cloves of garlic per jar and divide the mustard seeds and peppercorns approximately evenly between jars.) If you are using a slightly larger jar and the liquid doesn’t fully cover the pickles, fill the rest of the jar up with water.
Close the jar and refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours. Enjoy!
Notes
These are not shelf-stable, so they will need to be kept in the refrigerator. They should keep in the refrigerator for about two months, if you don’t eat them all before that! Non-reactive saucepans: Use a pot made of stainless steel, enamel, glass, or nonstick surface to make the brine. If you use a reactive material like copper, aluminum, or iron, it may leech a metallic taste into your pickles.
Enjoy your yummy easy homemade summer pickles! 💚