SEASONAL CHEF
Finding and using locally produced food


Donvier 1-Quart Ice Cream Maker
More About This Item

See a selection of other kitchen wares

Also visit the bookstore....


The Produce Bible: Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Nuts
More About This Book


Fagor Home Canning Kit
 BUY THIS ITEM

 Find more home canning supplies at the Seasonal Chef Cook Store


The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All Kinds of Produce from Garden or Market
By Linda Ziedrich
BUY THIS BOOK


Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions
By Lucy Norris
BUY THIS BOOK

More books about
 food preservation

Visit Seasonal Chef's Food Preservation Page

 

 

Two Quick No-Cook Pickle Recipes

Spicy Frozen Cucumbers
Fresh-Packed Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Deluged with cucumbers from my garden, I was desperate for ideas about how to preserve them in minimal time with minimal effort. These are some of the ideas I turned up in a search through my cookbook collection. The best of the bunch, in my estimation, is the Spicy Frozen Cucumber recipe from The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, by Carol Costenbader. 

The recipe for Fresh-Packed Refrigerator Dill Pickles, from the same book, which calls for lemon juice and water in lieu of salt and vinegar, didn’t work nearly as well, when I tried it.  I sorely missed the salt and vinegar.

Spicy Frozen Cucumbers

4 cups sliced pickling cucumbers, 3-4 inches long (about 12-14)
2 large onions
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon whole white mustard seeds

 1. Wash and thinly slice the cucumbers, unpeeled. Peel the onions and slice thin.
Combine the cucumbers, onions, and salt in a glass or ceramic bowl. Let them stand 2-4 hours to extract the moisture.

2. Rinse and drain the vegetables well, blotting them with paper towels to absorb all the moisture.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well until the sugar dissolves completely, about 10 minutes.

4. Pour the cucumber mixture into clean freezer containers, leaving 1 inch of headspace for expansion. Cap and seal. These will keep up to 1 year in the freezer.

5. To use, thaw about 4 hours in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Fresh-Packed Refrigerator Dill Pickles

10-14 whole pickling cucumbers, approximately 2 inches, scrubbed
3 sprigs dill
2 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Cold water

1. Pack sterilized jar with the cucumbers, dill and garlic, alternating layers, leaving ¼ inch headspace.

2. Pour lemon juice over cucumbers and fill jar with cold water.

3. Seal and refrigerate. These will keep at least 6 weeks.

Copyright 2005 Seasonal Chef