Peter Piper And The Pickles

  Do you remember that old children’s rhyme, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”?  Well Peter isn’t the only one with pickles and pickled peppers 🙂If we had known how easy it is to make pickles,  whether they be cucumbers or peppers or any other veggie you like, we would have been making them long ago!  This just couldn’t be any easier.  Making pickles simply entails filling a clean canning jar with cut or whole small cucumbers (or any other veggie you want to pickle) and adding the seasoning you like, and pouring some hot brine over the cucumbers to fill the jar.

Seal and wait 24 hours minimum or 1 week for best results.  That’s it!  No wonder Peter Piper was picking pickled peppers by the peck.  They no doubt brought him joy and a lovely sense of abundant living 🙂

Homemade Pickles

For 2 quart jars you will need:

Approximate;y 3 lbs. cucumbers* by themselves or in combination with peppers or any other vegetable you like.  Carrots, small boiling onions, cauliflower, turnips, beets or any firm vegetable can be pickled.

Here are the essentials for the brine:

2 cups water
2 cups vinegar
2 heaping tablespoons of kosher, sea or pickling salt
sprigs of fresh dill or 4 teaspoons dill seed
4-8 cloves of fresh garlic sliced

Now you can get creative.  Add any of the following spice that suit you:
peppercorns
tarragon
red pepper flakes
tumeric
coriander seeds
pearl onions
chiles
cloves

Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil.  Meanwhile put the cucumbers, garlic and dill in the jars.  Add any other spices or vegetables you are using.  Pour hot brine over everything in the jar up to within about 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.  Add lids and screw tightly.  Allow to cool then refrigerate.  Pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

* These are best made with Kirby, Persian or pickling cucumbers.  Don’t use regular cucumbers from the market as they are usually coated with wax and won’t work as well unless you scrub them well to remove the wax before pickling.