I knew from the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t be able to indulge my full garden desires, just from a time management perspective. There’s plenty to do in my life this year and a full on flower and vegetable project wasn’t in the cards.
So I made a point of growing what I needed for my personal mental health. A short list of things that give me the feeling that the growing season wasn’t a total loss. A couple of years in the past I made the mistake of not doing anything at all and that felt worse than the bare minimum. Aside from what was already in situ or volunteering (dill, parsley, sage, chive, oregano and feral garlic) So it was a couple squash, a dozen tomato plants and a few cucumbers.
I enjoy the pickling process and the results. So cucumbers are turning out to be the thing that scratches two different itches: I get to grow things and I get to pickle things. And this year I’m moving subtly from one style and seasoning to another as I go along, making three or four jar batches with minor variations on a theme.
My recipe is pretty simple…
Into every 500 ml jar I add -
As many pickles as I can cram in there to within a half centimeter of the top.
couple teaspoons of kosher pickling salt
three to five garlic cloves
half teaspoon dill seed from last year’s harvest (or a tablespoon of fresh dill fern)
mustard seed, half teaspoon
A few black peppercorns.
almost boiling mixture of 2/3 strong pickling vinegar and 1/3 water.
Immerse in a big pot so the lids are just covered with the water and insulated off the bottom (use a canning apparatus if you like. I only haul it out for big jobs). Keep the water at a simmer; about 85-90C (+/- 200 F) and pull them out at about 20 minutes.
It’s best if they cure for about six weeks before trying but you are to be forgiven if you can’t wait that long.
Best of luck with your pickles if you give this a try!