Homemade Pickles

This has been a season of firsts.  Earlier in the summer I made strawberry jam for the first time, because we had picked several pounds of strawberries. This week I tried my hand at pickles, because I have picked 8-10 cucumbers in the last two weeks. .

Here are just a few of the cucumbers I have picked. I had no idea I had two kinds of cucumbers that were so opposite.

I did a search on Pinterest and Google  to find an easy pickle recipe.  There were several recipes to chose from.  Some were complicated, and had a lot of ingredients. I did not want to buy several ingredients at the store that I might only use one time.  The recipe I did end up trying is not only simple, but I had almost all the ingredients on hand.  I am not sure who to credit this recipe as I found it in several places.    

Disclosure: This recipe has affiliate links to items I used while making this recipe. 

1 1/2 cups of white vinegar 

2 cups of hot water 

1/2 cup of sugar

4 Tbsp of Kosher Salt 

pickling spice

garlic cloves 

fresh dill 

The first step was to mix the sugar, salt and hot water together.  I used my 2 cup measuring cup which worked very well.  I stirred until the sugar and salt dissolved in the water.  While the mixture was cooling, I ran to the grocery store.  I realized that I forgot to pick up some pickling spice the day before.   Buy the time I got home it was the perfect temp to go to the next step. 

I sliced one and a half of the long cucumbers,, and one of the short, fat ones.  It was enough to fill 3 small mason jars. 

It was then time to add the white vinegar and pickling spice to the sugar/salt water. I was not sure how much pickling spice to add since I was using small jars.  I first put in 1 tsp, but it did not look like enough.  I decided to add one more. 

I then poured the liquid into the jars. It was the perfect amount for the three small jars.  If you try to make these, make  sure that all of the cucumbers are totally submersed in the liquid.  At this step add some of the fresh dill and chopped garlic into each of the jars.    I was also not sure how much garlic I should add.  I like garlic but I did not want to over power the pickles.  I ended up chopping 2 cloves and then evenly distributing them between the three jars.  It ended up the perfect amount for our family. If you love garlic, you might want to add a little more, if not add a little less.  It really is to your taste.   Put the lids on the jars, and place them in the refrigerator for a few days before eating. They should keep in the refrigerator for several months. 

I made these pickles on Saturday afternoon, and took a jar out of the refrigerator to try them today. (Tuesday).  Kara and I loved them, and may have already eaten half a jar.  I still have several cucumbers, so it looks like I will be making some more pickles this week.