My Garden This Week: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

My Garden This Week (7-18-13)

From too much rain to no rain, my garden has seen it all this summer.

There isn’t much to tell this week. I’m watering most days and hoping to get some good harvests.

I was encouraged to see some tomatoes turning on the only plant that survived the flooding.

There may not be enough to can, but we will at least have a few of our own tomatoes to eat.

I am still getting a zucchini here and there, but they aren’t producing like I had hoped.

Even with the sad state of my garden we have enjoyed some delicious fresh veggies recently.

My mom gave us over half a gallon of green beans, my in-laws gave us some sweet corn, and a friend gave me a huge box of cucumbers. We are truly been blessed.

Refrigerator Pickles

Not only did my friend give me a ton of cucumbers, she also gave me some gallon jars, fresh dill, and her method of making refrigerator dill pickles that I am going to share with you today.

My friend swears that these pickles will be crisp and delicious as well as keep for up to 18 months in the refrigerator.

I found that I needed 14-16 cucumbers (not big ones) to fill a gallon jar.

You will also need 3 cups of white vinegar, 12 cloves of garlic, several sprigs of dill, 3 peppercorns, 1/4-1/3 cup of pickling salt, and 3 cups of water.

Start by washing all of the cucumbers.

Cut the ends off and discard them. Then cut the cucumbers in half and then into spears. I cut each half into about 6-8 pieces.

Peel and roughly chop the 12 cloves of garlic.

In a clean 1 gallon jar add some dill, garlic, and a peppercorn.

Then start adding cucumber spears until the bottom half of the jar is pretty full.

Add more garlic, dill, and a peppercorn and then more cucumber spears.

Finish with the remaining dill, garlic, and peppercorn.

Now it’s time to make the brine.

Put the water, vinegar, and salt into a saucepan and bring it just to a boil.

Allow the liquid to cool slightly before adding it to the jar. (You don’t want the jar to burst.)

Put the lid on the jar and stick it in the refrigerator and in 3-4 weeks you should have pickles.

Sounds pretty easy, right? I am anxious to see how mine turn out.

Here’s a printable version of the recipe above.

I did want to note that you can also leave the cucumbers whole or slice them into chips.