Pickling cucumbers was always a highlight for my sister and I when we visited our German grandparents in the summer. This quick pickled cucumbers recipe is so fun, and it’s so satisfying to be able to eat homemade pickles all year long! I hope this recipe motivates people to turn this into a mini-family event to spend time with each other and have fun together!
It’s only about 2 hours of hands-on time, and this recipe makes enough for a year’s worth of pickled cucumber (in our family at least)! Besides, once you try these pickles for the first time, I promise you will never buy store-bought again. The taste is just completely different!
The recipe uses 6kg of Kirby Cucumbers – that is enough to fill 19 glass jars, of 24oz (or 720ml) each. This quantity usually lasts us all year long, so we don’t ever have to buy storebought ones!
Curious about what Kirby cucumbers are? They’re essentially smaller versions of the English or Persian Cucumber and have a rougher, bumpier skin. You could try using different types of cucumbers, however Kirby are locally available here, quite cheap, and my favourite taste-wise!
How to make pickled cucumbers
Day 1: Preparation
You want to start by scrubbing them – this removes the dirt and some of the roughness of the skin! It’s also a really fun part of the process and inevitably (in my family, at least) ends with everyone spraying each other with water (by accident, of course).
Once you’re done with that, cut off both the ends of each cucumber. This will remove the hard stem and also make it easier for the brine solution, vinegar and spices to get inside.
Then you leave them overnight in a brine (salt and water) solution. This will remove any bitterness the cucumbers have. The salt also helps with preservation, and lengthens the ultimate shelf storage of the pickles!
To sterilise the glass jars, heat them for 20-30 minutes at 85ºC and then let them cool down.
Day 2: Layering and Canning
The next morning, pat the cucumbers dry. You can then start layering the cucumbers with the carrots, garlic, onion, horseradish and 1TBSP of spices (each jar). For the spices, we use a ready-made mix containing mustard seeds, dill seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, juniper berries, allspice seeds, and bay leaves from a local vendor. Hhowever this recipe looks great if you’d like to make it yourself.
Finally, top off the jars with the vinegar solution. My Grandma likes to use the vinegar solution by Ernst Gebhardt, but this one contains saccharin and sulphur dioxide, which I’m not a huge fan of. You can also make your own by mixing 1 part white wine vinegar with 1 part water.
Once all the glasses are ready, you’re almost done! Now, you just need to heat them for 30 minutes at 80ºC to form an airtight seal in the jar. This enables longer shelf storage! My Grandma uses a canning machine from Westfalia, like this one, which has a timer and is therefore super handy (she also uses it to make juice from the fruits she harvests from her garden). You could use a regular pot instead, of course!
Once that is done, just let the glass jars cool down and store in a cool, dark place! Let them sit for 2-4 weeks, ideally, for the cucumbers to pick up the flavours from the spices. They will last for more than a year if the jars are properly sealed airtight. You can check whether the jars have been sealed properly (after heating) by pressing your thumb into the middle of the lid – you should not be able to push it down!
I hope you enjoy making (and of course eating) them! Below you can find the more compact version of the recipe:
Please let us know in the comments below how you liked this quick pickled cucumbers recipe, and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram and Pinterest when you make it!
For more recipe inspiration, see the Recipes section of our blog.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Start by scrubbing the cucumbers with a rough bristled brush, and then cut off both ends.
-
Place the cucumbers in a large bowl and pour in enough water to cover them. Then, add 3 small handfuls of salt and mix well. Let the cucumbers soak in this brine solution overnight.
-
To sterilise the glasses, heat them for 20-30 minutes at 85ºC and then let them cool down.
-
Once the cucumbers have soaked overnight, pat them dry. Start layering the cucumbers into the glass jars with the carrots, garlic, onion, and horseradish. To each jar, add 1TBSP of the canning spice mix.Â
-
Finally, top off the jars with the vinegar solution! Use store-bought or make your own by mixing 1 part white wine vinegar with 1 part water. Screw the lids onto the jars.
-
Heat the jars for 30 minutes at 80ºC to form an airtight seal in the jar and be able to store them longer.Â
-
Let the jars cool down and store in a cool, dark place! Let them sit for 2-4 weeks, ideally, for the cucumbers to pick up the flavours from the spices. They will last for more than a year if the heating has been done correctly and the jars are sealed airtight. I hope you enjoy making (and of course eating) them!
