When a recipe is handed down from person to person to person, you know it’s a keeper. This recipe came from a neighbor, to my dad, to me, then to my husband, who then used them in his restaurants on the burger menu.
This is a simple recipe for preparing equally sweet and tart pickles, with the bounty of English cucumbers from the garden. English cucumbers are also known as the seedless and burp-less varieties. If you do not have this variety in your garden, look for availability at the Farmer’s Market. Store-bought cucumbers will also work well. You will find them in the produce department tightly wrapped in plastic, as they have a thinner skin.
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Bread and Butter Pickles
This is a simple recipe for preparing equally sweet and tart bread and butter pickles with seedless/burp-less English cucumbers. If you are not overloaded with cucumbers from the garden and want to make only one quart, divide the ingredients by 4.
Servings: 128 1 oz servings
Calories: 25kcal
Equipment
- Mason Jars
- Large Sauce Pot
Ingredients
- 10 whole English cucumbers sliced
- 24 cloves fresh garlic peeled, whole
- 2 large yellow onions large diced
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup table salt
- 4 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 4 1/2 tsp mustard seed
- 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
Instructions
- Have two 1/2 gallon, or four 1 quart, mason jars at the ready.
- In a sauce pot, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, celery, mustard seeds and turmeric. Heat to a
simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once sugar is dissolved, turn off heat, and let the brine cool back to room temp. - With a chef’s knife, or mandolin, slice cucumbers into rounds about 1/4″
thick. - Layer cucumber slices with cloves of garlic and onion, dividing into even portions between the jars.
- Once brine has cooled, pour over cucumbers filling to the brim. Cap the jars and place in the
refrigerator for 5 days to pickle. Keep stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Thicker slices will give a crisper texture to the pickle and will take a few days longer to brine; however, you can make these pickles with thinner slices, and they will be ready to eat sooner.
- Cucumber quantity is approximate. To completely fill the jars, reduce or increase the cucumbers and onions accordingly.
- If you do not have whole garlic cloves and would prefer to use prepared chopped/minced garlic, add approximately 2 Tbsp to the brine, adding more or less to taste.
- This pickling brine can also be used for other vegetables (e.g. carrots, cauliflower).
- You can also “cheat” and not heat the brine before adding it to the cucumbers. It still has a wonderful bright flavor (that’s the way my dad makes them).
