homemade bread and butter pickles

I love pickles. Always have.

Can’t have a sandwich, burger, hotdog, or charcuterie plate without them. All four of my kiddos love them too (although one is too picky for her own good and will only eat cornichons), so they are a staple in our fridge.

What’s even better about pickles, is that they are so easy to make on your own.

If canning makes you nervous, you’re in luck, because it’s even easier to make refrigerator quick pickles and not worry about the sterilization or water bath seal. And in our house, since they are eaten so quickly we have no need to keep them past a few days.

Also, at home pickles can be made utilizing different flavors, different vinegars, and of course different vegetables, so it’s a lot of fun to come up with different pickling combinations.

This particular variety is your classic bread and butter pickle, sweet and crisp.

Ingredients:

8 cucumber pickles, tops and bottoms removed, sliced in rounds approximately 1/8 inch thick

1 yellow onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

1 ½ tsp salt

3 cups white vinegar

1 cup water

2 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ tsp turmeric

1 ½ tsp celery seed

1 ½ tsp mustard seed

Directions:

In an 8 x 11 pan, alternate layers of sliced pickles and onions, sprinkling salt over each layer. Cover top layer with salt, and then ice cubes. Let sit 1 hour. Rinse.

Place cucumbers and onions in prepared mason jars.

Bring vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, celery seed and mustard seed to boil. Boil until sugar is dissolved, and whisk together to fully combine.

Pour hot liquid over cucumbers and onions. .

Let cool on counter, place lid, and store in fridge.

Note: If you want to make shelf stable, you can sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes. Fill per above directions, then process for 15 minutes in boiling water.