Pickleos Recipes

BEST EVER DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Thoroughly scrub cucumbers with a soft vegetable brush in plenty of cold running water. Remove stems and blossoms; slice off each blossom end. Cut cucumbers lengthwise into quarters.
• In a 4- to 5-qt. stainless steel, enameled, or nonstick pot combine water, vinegar, sugar and pickling salt. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Pack cucumber spears loosely into hot, sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Add 1 tablespoon dillseeds to each jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Discard any remaining hot vinegar mixture. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
• Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boil). Remove jars; cool on racks. Let stand 1 week at room temperature before serving. Makes 6 pints.

CANNED DILL PICKLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash jars and lids with soap and water.
• Place jars and lids in a pot of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Drain the water carefully then your jars and lids are ready to use.
• Divide bay leaves, peppercorns, dill stems, garlic and horseradish (optional) into the bottoms of 6 Quart-sized jars. Pack cucumbers tightly into jars.
• In a medium pot, combine 8 cups water, 1/3 cup sugar, 6 Tbsp salt and 6 cups vinegar. Bring pickling juice to a boil then pour over cucumbers leaving 1/2" of space at the top. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don't over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
• Place jars in a canner or large pot lined with a wire rack at the bottom. Once all of the jars are in the pot, add boiling hot water, to cover jars with 1-2 inches of water. Process/boil for 15 minutes.
• Carefully remove jars from the water using a jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate pickles and enjoy within 3 months.

EASY HOMEMADE PICKLE

Steps:

• Cut or slice up the veg into fine or chunky pieces, depending on what you're looking for. I quite like purposely cutting each veg differently - some diced, some into erratic chunks, some sliced delicately and some more thickly.
• Place all the veg in a sterilised airtight jar, add 125ml of water, along with the vinegar, salt, sugar and herbs and spices, if using. Close the lid and give it a good shake.
• Keep in the fridge for up to 8 weeks, or you can absolutely use it right away - it will start off tasting quite sharp and crunchy, then relax into itself over a period of a few weeks. This pickle is brilliant in sandwiches and salads, on a cheese board, or as a side to curries and stir-fries.

PICKLED ONIONS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients for the onions.
• Sprinkle the salt over the dry, peeled onions.
• Stir to make sure the salt is distributed. Cover, refrigerated overnight (do not leave longer than overnight if you want your onions to be crisp).
• When ready, rinse the onions and dry with kitchen or paper towels.
• Gather the ingredients for the pickling liquid.
• Place the malt vinegar, sugar, and all the pickling spice ingredients in a large stainless steel pot.
• Heat on medium to dissolve the sugar, but do not boil.
• Pack the onions into clean, sterilized jars (about two wide-mouth, quart-size canning jars, or smaller jars, if desired).
• Pour the vinegar-spice liquid over the onions to fill the jars, making sure each jar has pickling spices and that there are no air pockets.
• Seal the jars and let cool. Store refrigerated. The onions will be ready to eat after about one month.
• Peeling pickling onions is fiddly and time-consuming. To speed up the process, cut off the top and tail of the onions.
• Then place the onions in a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over to cover.
• Drain the water after 10 minutes, and presto, the skins will just rub right off.
• Do not leave in the water too long or the onions will start to go mushy when you preserve them. Dry the onions with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Proceed with pickling.

QUICK & EASY REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

Steps:

• Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or teflon) over high heat. Whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Transfer the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the cold water. Refrigerate brine until ready to use.
• Stuff the cucumbers into two clean 1-quart jars. Add the coriander seeds, garlic cloves, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs, and chilled brine into jars, dividing evenly. If necessary, add a bit of cold water to the jars until the brine covers the cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate about 24 hours, then serve. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.

DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.
• Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside.
• Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal. Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place.
• Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.
• The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded.