Saturday, July 18, 2020

Brown Sugar Bread & Butter Refrigerator Pickles

There are a handful of ingredients that I like to keep in the kitchen so it's easy to whip up something on the fly. There are the usual suspects, flour, sugar, milk, but beyond that there are a handful of other items that can always be found in our kitchen. Sun-dried tomatoes for example, last forever in the fridge and can be added to everything from scrambled eggs to calzone.





Bread and butter pickles is another staple that I like to keep around. I coarsely chop them and add them to macaroni or potato salad and as cucumbers come in from the garden, I chop them and just throw them back into the juice to pickle. I keep 2 jars going all the time. One that's ready and one that's pickling.



You can adjust the spices to your liking, and other veggies as they come in from the garden. Small banana peppers, onions or even carrots. When you get tired of pickling, don't throw out the juice. It's sweet-tart flavor is a wonderful addition to pasta salad, or mix with mayonnaise for a zesty, sweet slaw dressing. 

Want to make some of your own? You'll be glad you did.


Brown Sugar Bread & Butter Pickles

PREP THE CUCUMBERS:

2-3 thinly sliced cucumbers or enough fill a quart jar
(pickling cucumbers if you can find them, but any cucumber will do)

 1 c. Onion sliced thin

2 tablespoons kosher or other course salt

Sprinkle salt over sliced cucumbers and onions, cover and let them sweat for an hour or three. After their spa treatment, rinse cucumbers in a colander under cool water. 

If you want to skip this step you can. Your cucumbers may not be as crisp or as flavorful, but will still be delicious, so if you don't have time for the salt soak, just add a tablespoon of salt to your pickling brine.

------------------

ADD TO A SAUCEPAN: 

¾ c. White Vinegar
¾ c. Apple Cider Vinegar
½ c. Light Brown Sugar
½ c. Sugar
1½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
½ teaspoon Celery Seeds
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

Heat until sugar is dissolved, simmer, but don't boil. While your brine is warming, pack a quart size canning jar or any other glass container with your cucumbers and onions, stacking them to maximize space. Pour your hot brine over the top.

Cool on the counter for a couple of hours and then close up and put in the fridge. These will last for months in the refrigerator, but ours usually survive about a week. I do keep two jars going all the time. One is for eating and the other is for soaking. By the time the pickles in the back of the fridge are ready, the jar at the front is empty and ready to be refilled with fresh cucumbers, which I just add to the brine as they come in from the garden.

What are your unusual pantry staples?

No comments:

Post a Comment