Summer Pickles

Summer pickles are easy to make and offer a burst of tangy flavor and crisp texture. Commonly found in Scandinavian and Eastern European cuisine, these pickles are made by soaking cucumbers in a vinegar and water brine, flavored with herbs and spices.

Refrigerator pickling is a simple technique that requires no cooking or canning. The brine mixture is heated briefly to dissolve sugar and salt, then poured over the cucumbers and stored in the refrigerator for a few days to allow the flavors to develop (but a week is better).

PicklesCucumbers

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 30 min

Yield: 4 servings

An open mason jar filled with pickle slices.

Ingredients

  • 5 Kirby cucumbers or a pint of pickling gherkins
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cups vinegar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. Kosher salt
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh dill
  • 1 Tbsp. peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh dill

Equipment

  • 3-4 Mason jars

Instructions

Brine

  1. 1.
    Combine water, vinegar, and sugar in a pot.
  2. 2.
    Add salt, dill, peppercorns, and bay leaf.
  3. 3.
    Simmer the brine for 10-20 minutes.

Prep

  1. 4.
    Slice Kirby cucumbers into ¼ inch thick pieces or cut gherkins in half, length-wise.
  2. 5.
    Fill the mason jars with cucumbers.
  3. 6.
    Make slices part way through the garlic every ⅛" to expose more of the garlic's surface. Or, just cut the garlic up and throw the pieces in the jar, but it looks nicer having a whole clove in the jar.
  4. 7.
    Add the sliced garlic clove and a sprig of dill to each jar.

Jar

  1. 8.
    Strain the brine and fill each jar, covering the cucumbers.
  2. 9.
    Tightly add a lid to each jar and place the jars upside down on a towel. As the jars cool, the lids should pull in and show a good seal.
  3. 10.
    Once the seals have popped, store the jars in the refrigerator.

Store

  1. 11.
    Wait for 2 to 3 days before eating. Pickles should be good for about 6 weeks.