Description
A simple and refreshing Dill Pickle recipe featuring crunchy Persian or pickling cucumbers, infused with garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and fresh dill. These pickles are quick to prepare and develop their best flavor after a few days in the refrigerator, perfect for a homemade tangy snack or condiment.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pickles
- 12 to 14 Persian cucumbers or 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers
Flavorings
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- Fresh dill sprigs, a few per jar
Pickling Brine
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare the cucumbers: To make dill pickle spears, slice the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters. To make dill pickle chips, thinly slice them horizontally. This step ensures the cucumbers absorb the brine and flavors evenly.
- Fill the jars: Divide the cucumber spears or chips evenly among 4 (8-ounce) or 2 (16-ounce) clean glass jars. Distribute the halved garlic cloves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and fresh dill sprigs evenly into each jar for balanced seasoning.
- Make the pickling brine: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, distilled white vinegar, cane sugar, and sea salt. Stir the mixture until the sugar and salt completely dissolve, which takes about 1 minute. Then remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- Pour the brine over cucumbers: Carefully pour the warm brine into each jar, covering the cucumbers and spices completely to ensure proper pickling and flavor infusion.
- Cool and refrigerate: Allow the jars to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, seal the jars with their lids and place them in the refrigerator. This pickling process happens in the fridge, keeping the cucumbers crisp and fresh.
- Pickling timeline: Dill pickle spears will be lightly pickled and ready to eat after about 2 days, with optimal flavor developing around day 5 or 6. Dill pickle chips pickled for 1 day will have some tang, improving in flavor daily thereafter. The pickles can be stored refrigerated for several weeks.
Notes
- Use fresh dill sprigs for the best aromatic flavor.
- Ensure jars and lids are clean and sterilized for safe storage.
- Adjust sugar and salt quantities to taste if desired.
- Cucumbers should be firm and fresh for crisp pickles.
- Store pickles in the refrigerator to keep them crunchy and fresh for weeks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pickle spear or equivalent chips
- Calories: 8
- Sugar: 1.5g
- Sodium: 360mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 0.3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
