Description
At the end of summer during the Great Depression the excess cucumber crop was sliced, salted, pickled, and put up in jars for the cold, lean months ahead. I can just imagine what a treat it was to fill a sandwich with these sweet crunchy coins (bread and butter pickles, as they came to be known). I’m sure it was a wonderful break from what must have been a fairly flavorless existence. For longer storage, you can process the pickles in canning jars in a boiling water canner.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced
- ½ yellow onion, sliced
- 2 red jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced into rings
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 2 cups white sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Combine cucumbers
- onion
- and peppers in a bowl; pour kosher salt over the top and stir to coat completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate
- stirring occasionally
- 2 to 4 hours. Rinse cucumber mixture in a colander under cold water until all salt is washed away
- 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
- Stir vinegar
- sugar
- water
- garlic
- mustard seed
- celery seed
- peppercorns
- turmeric
- and ground cloves together in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and cook until brine flavors combine
- about 2 minutes. Add cucumber mixture to brine; heat until almost boiling
- remove from heat
- and cool completely. Transfer to jars and store in the refrigerator.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 48