REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

 

This is an amazing pickle recipe that I got from my friend Editha (fondly known by many as "Eddy").
I was invited to join Eddy and her friends in her annual candy making and she had asked me to dip her centers.  Each day she treated us with a delicious lunch.  She had served these pickles.  I've never been a real fan of pickles but, after I had these, I was hooked.  They are slightly sweet and the kicker is that they are so crisp and crunchy like a fresh cucumber.  Now for the best part........wait for it.............
You don't have to can them!!!!!  YAHOO!!!  I hate canning, no, I more than hate, I detest canning.  These are so quick and easy to make and there is  very little mess.  Love it!!

Here's what you need

5-6 Cucumbers

3-Onions

1-1/2 teaspoons Celery Seed

1-1/2 teaspoons Mustard Seed

1-1/2 teaspoons Turmeric

3-Cups Apple Cider Vinegar

4-Cups Sugar

1/3-Cup Pickling Salt

Slice cucumbers and onions and put in 1 gallon jar. 

Slice them any way you would like.  I like to slice them quite thick because it gives me more to bite into and mostly because I can cut them up faster

Pack them in.  You will only fit about 2 onions and 4 cucumbers in at first.  After you add the liquid brine, they will settle and you can add more.

Measure the vinegar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, sugar and salt into a pan and cook high heat.  I stir this as it is heating, scraping the bottom, to make sure the sugar and salt dissolve and don't get stuck on the bottom of the pan where they can burn.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Pour the brine into the jar.  Notice how the liquid doesn't fill the jar and the cucumbers start to settle.  Now you can add more cucumbers and onion until the liquid and cucumbers reach the top.

Put on the lid and STORE IN THE FRIDGE.  Take out and shake once a day for 30 days (or just whenever you think about it).

We were dipping in to these within a week.  The longer they sit, the more flavor they get.



Just a few notes:

I got this jar at Walmart.  I thought it would look a lot cooler in pictures for my Blog.  I usually use an empty, gallon size, Marchino cherry jar ( I make a lot of Cherry Cordials).  After twisting on the lid for a minute or two, then pulling on it out of frustration, I realized it wasn't a twist on lid.  It's o.k. but you can see that after shaking it, the liquid is in the top of the ring and will probably start to leak down the side of the jar and get sticky.  Yuck!  The other thing is, I had to adjust the shelves in my fridge to make it fit because it was so high.  Long story short, it is cool looking, but I wouldn't get it.  I would just use any empty gallon jar you might have with a twist on lid.

I also added more cucumbers and onions as they started to settle.  You could also make this in smaller jars.