Homemade Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles

So the cucumbers are really starting to produce well.  We just have a small 4-foot trellis of cucumbers but we are picking 3 or 4 every other day.  With everything else we are pulling from the garden right now, we can’t possibly keep up with those cucumbers.  So we are continuing to experiment with new refrigerator pickle recipes.

I like dill pickles, but Mrs. Stoney loves bread and butter pickles.  So this week I scoured the web looking for recipes for bread and butter refrigerator pickles.  I ended up adapting a recipe I found on the recipegirl.com.  I didn’t follow her recipe exactly so I will give you my adjusted recipe.

Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles

1- 1/2 pounds of pickling cucumbers (enough to fill a quarter jar)

1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt (sea salt, kosher salt or pickling salt)

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon celery salt (you can use 1/2 tsp celery seeds)

1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Slice the cucumbers about 1/4 inch thick.

Slice the onions thinly.

Combine cucumbers, onions, and salt in a shallow bowl.  Stir it up well so the salt covers everything.  Cover the mix with ice and let sit for about 90 minutes.  Then drain the water off and return the mix to the bowl. (If you don’t like salty pickles you can rinse the salt off at this stage, but we left it on and the pickles tasted just right)

Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Pour this hot mixture over the cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.  Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.  Store in a non-reactive airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

One thing I’m learning about refrigerator pickles is you can be flexible.   If you don’t like onion, leave it out.  Add some garlic if you like.  Like the pickles less sweet?  Cut back on the sugar.  The only non-negotiable item on the list is the turmeric.  Turmeric is what gives bread and butter pickles their taste, so you can’t skip the turmeric and expect to have good pickles.

We really liked this recipe.  In a pinch, these can be ready with just a couple of hours in the fridge but are better after 24 hours.  The heat softens up the cucumbers a bit so be sure to cut them a little thicker than you would for recipes that don’t use hot brine/vinegar.  That way you will still have crunchy pickles.