Dill Pickled Cucumbers – a delicious store cupboard staple!
These Bread and Butter Dill Pickled Cucumbers are the result of a visit this morning to the Adelaide Central Market. I came upon some locally grown, freshly picked, young Lebanese cucumbers and I knew immediately how I would like to use them.
I like to always have a jar of these pickles on hand.
A balanced mix of vinegar, sugar, spices and dill produces a mild, slightly sweet pickle. I like to use the pickles on hamburgers and bread and cheese. I love the zing the pickles add to almost any sandwich.
This simple pickle is easily made, and a great way to start if you’re new to the pickle making process. I have a few tips to ensure success. Cucumbers contain approximately 95% water and all that water can dilute your pickling solution. To overcome this I like to use small cucumbers as their water content is a little lower and the skin more tender. I also soak them in a salt and water brine for 3 hours, before pickling, to draw out some of their moisture.
It is essential to use a non-reactive bowl and saucepan.
This means using plastic, ceramic, glass, enamel or stainless steel products. A reactive pan is one that contains metals that might interact with acidic foods, altering the colour and flavour. Aluminium, cast iron, and unlined copper are examples of reactive metals.
First of all, I suggest that you look out for bargain boxes of ‘seconds’ cucumbers at farmers’ markets as often the only difference is that they’re unevenly sized and not straight! These cucumbers are perfect for this recipe.
Do try these simple pickles, and please comment below if you do. There’s only one problem with these pickles – they keep disappearing!
Enjoy!
Xx Alex and Faye
P.S. These make a great gift! If you are looking for another edible gift idea, check out my Balsamic Glaze or Pickled Jalapenos.
Dill Pickled Cucumbers
Ingredients
- 450 g Lebanese cucumbers young and fresh
- 1 ½ tablespoon course salt *
- 1 large onion * very thinly sliced
- ¼ cup boiling water freshly boiled
Pickling Liquid:
- 1 cup white wine vinegar *
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tspn mustard seeds
- 2 tspn fresh dill chopped
- ¼ tspn turmeric ground
- ¼ tspn dried chilli flakes
Recipe Measurements:
For accuracy, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results.
Instructions
- Trim the ends off the cucumbers and discard. Slice the cucumbers thinly, about the thickness of a coin. I slice mine by hand but you can use a food processor or mandoline.
- Mix the cucumber and onion in a non-reactive* bowl.
- Mix the salt with the boiling water. Some of the salt will dissolve, but not all of it.Pour the salt and water over the cucumber mixture, mix to distribute and leave for 3 hours, turning the mixture occasionally.
- Tip the cucumber and onion into a colander and press the mixture down with the back of a large spoon to remove as much liquid as possible.
- For the pickling liquid, mix all the ingredients in a non-reactive medium-sized saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- Tip the cucumber and onion into the pickling liquid and simmer 2 minutes. Stir several times.
- Remove from the heat and leave the mixture to cool in the saucepan.
- Spoon the mixture into sterilised jars*, ensuring the mixture is covered with pickling liquid. Do not overfill the jars as the liquid should not touch the lids.Once a jar is opened, store it in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Nancy
These dill pickles came out so good I wish I had made more! I followed your advice to use smaller cucumbers since they contain less water and the results were so much better than I had in the past! The crunch and flavor are so good, especially with the dill and chili flakes. I’m planning on making more because they’re already halfway gone. We chopped some up and used these in your tuna dip recipe with amazing results!
Alexandra
Hi Nancy, thank you for your lovely comments on the Dill Pickled Cucumbers. It’s a great idea to use some in our Tuna Dip. 🙂
Charlotte
I finally opened up the jar of pickles I made with our summer cucumbers and they tasted amazing!! The pickling liquid is so flavorful I added a few spoonfuls to my chicken salad for lunch. I’ll be making this again next year~!
Alexandra
Hi Charlotte, I am so pleased that you enjoyed the Dill Pickled Cucumbers. Such a great idea to add some of the liquid to your chicken salad. Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Marilyne Gayte
The reciepe looks amazing and I would like to try. Do you think it would work as well if I leave the cucumbers whole? We usually by them whole because we just snack on them. Would the brine step work as well?
Thanks heaps! Love your blog!
Alexandra
Hi Marilyne!
I haven’t tried using whole cucumbers but I can’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t work. Some Lebanese cucumbers can be quite large so it would be best to use smaller ones and pack them tightly in the jar.
They would not be ready for eating as quickly as the slices. I suggest leaving them for a week before trying them.
Please let me know how you get on.
I am so glad you are enjoying the blog 🙂 Kind regards, Alex
Melanie
I’ve been making your pickled jalapeno recipe all month so when I saw you had a pickled cucumber recipe I had to try it! It turned out so delicious!! I’ve put these on sandwiches so far and they added just the right amount of acidity and crunch! I’m going to try it on my sandwich next!
Alexandra
Hi Melanie, thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed the Pickled Cucumbers. They add a great crunch to sandwiches and hamburgers! 🙂