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It has been years since I have done any canning but the other day at farmer’s market I spotted some pickling cucumbers and decided to make these Crispy Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles. Growing up we had a huge garden and we spent the end of summer canning and freezing the harvest. I fondly remember my grandmother’s pickles, and today I spent my Sunday afternoon making my own and thinking of the hours spent cutting and slicing all the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans and corn with my grandmother.
No matter what brand of pickles I buy in the store, nothing matches the taste of these freshly canned pickles. This recipe is so simple and with few ingredients; it makes two jars so you won’t be overwhelmed making these. I found the two jars went pretty fast so next time I am doubling the recipe.
I am using a smaller cucumber, especially for pickling. The major difference between the pickling cucumber and the standard cucumber is these are smaller, they have fewer seeds, less moisture, and the skin is not as tough. I can only find the pickling cucumbers at farmer’s markets, however, you can use the regular slicing cucumbers found in grocery stores, just try to buy small ones.
After you give your cucumbers a good washing slice them up in a 1/4″ slices. I love this crinkle-cut slicer to cut the cucumber, it is very easy to use and make those beautiful ridges.
Put the sliced cucumbers in a nice big bowl and sprinkle the salt over them, stir and then put your bowl in the refrigerator for an hour.
After 1 hour, rinse the cucumbers in a colander to remove the salt then put back into your bowl.
Add in the sliced onions
While the cucumbers are in the refrigerator you can make the brine.
The brine is made of white and brown sugar, white and apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and tumeric. Make sure the brine is still hot when you pour it over the cucumbers. Check out all the mustard seeds floating around the brine.
When the brine is ready, pour it over the cucumbers and onions, give it a big stir then let sit for one hour in the refrigerator.
Make sure to sterilize your glass jars and lids and when the cucumbers are ready to spoon the mixture into the jars and seal tightly.
Don’t these look good? I like how the pickles retain most of the green color and they are a little bit sweet and zesty with a perfect crunch. So good!
Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
Cucumber Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds pickling cucumber I used 8 cucumbers
- 1 1/2 tbls. kosher salt
- 1 small onion sliced use to your taste
Brine Ingredients
- 1 cups of white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbls. mustard seeds
- 3/4 tsp. celery seeds
- 1/4 tsp. tumeric
Instructions
- Wash and sterilize canning jars. Note: I have various sized jars but 2 pint-sized jars will work.
- Wash the cucumbers
- Slice the cucumbers into 1/4" slices
- Put the cucumbers in a bowl and add the salt
- Stir to combine and put into the refrigerator for one hour
- After an hour transfer the cucumbers to a colander and rinse to remove the salt
- Put the cucumbers back into your bowl and add the onions
- Make the brine by adding all the brine ingredients to a saucepan
- Stir and bring to a simmer, cook until the sugars are dissolved.
- Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers and onions and let sit in the bowl for one hour
- Put the pickles in the sterilized jars and refrigerate. These will stay for 3 weeks.
These Crispy Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles make a nice addition to a cheese and bread plate, add some dry salami and some veggies for an appetizer or even for a light meal. My preference for eating these pickles, it would be straight out of the jar!
Please do me a favor and save this pin for later.
Don’t forget to grab your crinkle-cut slicer and spices so you can make these delicious pickles.
Amy | The Cook Report says
August 20, 2018 at 6:10 amI did a bit of canning last summer and really enjoyed it, I’ll have to give it another go with this recipe!
Cliona Keane says
August 20, 2018 at 2:51 amYou just made this pregnant lady very happy! Time for pickles for sure!
Tara says
August 19, 2018 at 10:32 pmYum! I bet these do taste so much better than store-bought. I can’t wait to try them at home.
Evo says
June 16, 2019 at 9:44 pmPlease don’t rate the recipe if you haven’t tried it! Very misleading and upsetting to look for a top rated recipe and find that 90% of the raters didn’t even try it!!
Brian Jones says
August 19, 2018 at 10:29 pmI love pickled cucumbers, they are incredibly popular here in Hungary and are typically served as a side salad, I must try your recipe.
Natalie says
August 19, 2018 at 9:40 pmLooks so delicious and so easy to make! I love pickles!
Rosemary says
August 17, 2018 at 3:59 pmThose look so good Jere! I think refrigerator pickles are great. Like your combo of white and brown sugar. I did a post here: http://getcookingsimply.com/get-pickled/
Kat says
February 28, 2017 at 9:26 pmWe could save so much money doing pickles ourselves because we go through a lot of it. And those local, organic, healthy kind of pickles costs an arm and a leg! Such a simple thing to make ourselves so I’m not sure why I haven’t done it yet. Your post sure inspires me to make my own from now on!
OneHotOven says
March 5, 2017 at 1:03 amYou are right, these take no time to make and they are good!
anne says
October 1, 2015 at 6:18 pmI love homemade pickles! Once you have a taste of them, the store bought ones don’t taste good any more. Thanks for sharing !
Ayana Pitterson says
October 1, 2015 at 3:59 amWow, I honestly didn’t realize it was this easy to make this. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
Jill says
October 1, 2015 at 3:16 amThank you for the sweet memories of “helping” my Gramma can various veggies years ago, when she was healthy and I didn’t understand the concept of canning but was happy to be in her kitchen being helpful! 🙂
Aimee says
October 1, 2015 at 1:59 amThis recipe reminds me of the bread and butter pickles my grandma used to make when I was little. Thank you for sharing it. I haven’t canned in several years, but I would love to do it again.
Malorie says
September 30, 2015 at 8:26 pmI’ve never made these, but this recipe looks delicious!!!
Evo says
June 16, 2019 at 9:46 pmThen why did you rate it!?!?!?
The Levantess says
September 30, 2015 at 5:45 pmMy mouth is watering at these pictures! I love pickles, and will pin this to try soon 🙂
Debbie Thompson says
September 30, 2015 at 3:52 pmHow cool is this?! I am a huge fan of pickles and I never really thought of making them myself. We’re moving toward more and more clean & natural foods and products so this is another great idea. Thank you!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
September 30, 2015 at 3:44 pmOhmegawsh – these look so good! Those last couple of pictures have me drooling! Gotta try this!
Lindi Mogale says
September 30, 2015 at 10:49 amIt has never occured to me to do my own pickles primarily because I am too lazy. But now I will try this recipe of yours and let you know how it goes. we are going into summer on my side of the world, and we do more outdoor eating so this could be a nice addition to the braai
Adrienne says
September 30, 2015 at 12:30 amI love making pickles! We made dill and sweet this year. I’ve never been a fan of the dill ones, but they look so good! We also made pickle relish. I love your photos! ~Adrienne
Karen says
September 30, 2015 at 12:15 amThank you for sharing, I need to try this! My kids LOVE pickles, and I’m sure it would be healthier and probably less expensive if I made our own and canned them!
Jen says
September 29, 2015 at 6:15 pmWhat lovely memories you have of you and your grandmother sharing those special times together! Although I’ve never canned anything before, now I might have to try something new! I enjoyed reading your post – thanks so much for sharing!
amanda says
September 29, 2015 at 5:39 pmWe love pickles but the store brands all have artificial colors, which we don’t eat, so have’t had pickles in a long time! I’m going to make a bunch of these, thanks for the recipe!
Sam Sly says
September 29, 2015 at 5:16 pmThose look delicious! They remind me of my grandmother’s pickles. I need to pin this for future reference!
Ayana Pitterson says
September 29, 2015 at 5:09 pmWow, I honestly did not know it was so easy to make these. Definitely saving this recipe. I am not a huge lover of pickles, but honestly this looks so awesome. Pinning this.
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
Jill says
September 29, 2015 at 10:59 amThose pickles look yummy!!! They look so perfect! My aunt just canned some bread and butter and dill pickles and gave us some! I like dill better but will give the others a fair taste test!
Erica Brooks says
September 28, 2015 at 7:33 pmThese pickles look delicious! I love a good pickle and will have to give these a try. They probably won’t last long in our house.
Kimberly Gauthier says
September 28, 2015 at 2:12 pmSo funny that I come to this post today. Yesterday, I was at the store and saw jarred pickles and it was so tempting, but I’m always disappointed. I’ve had homemade pickles before and there’s nothing like it. Thanks for the recipe. This is something I can easily do.
April Ockerman says
September 27, 2015 at 10:37 pmI have always wanted to try out my hand at making pickles, but just never got up the nerve. I am going to save this recipe and maybe get out of my comfort zone 🙂
Val says
September 27, 2015 at 4:07 amSo funny, this was the year we decided to can up a storm as well. I still have some more things I hope to make. But we got a lot of pickles made. You are correct, there is nothing like homemade pickles.
Growing up our garden was an acre. We also went to visit my grandparents and grab fresh fruit across the mountains. I grew up never buying canned foods and I wish I could have done that more when the kids were younger. Never too late to start back up 🙂
Lana says
September 26, 2015 at 9:17 pmThey look so gooooood!!! Can’t wait to make them tomorrow, thank you so much for the recipe.
I hope the store will have those little cucumbers tomorrow 🙂
Melody says
September 26, 2015 at 8:46 pmI never heard of this.I’m not really fond of pickles but I know someone who is and I bet she would love to try this recipe sending her an email right now.
Natalie says
September 26, 2015 at 3:21 pmAwesome! I will need to try these. My husband loves bread and butter pickles..I’m more into dill pickles myself, but I like the idea of making them from scratch. Thanks for sharing!
Maria Magdalena says
September 26, 2015 at 6:15 amDelicious! I just realize that you use brown sugar to make pickles. I definitely will try to make it.
OneHotOven says
September 27, 2015 at 1:26 amThey really are my favorite.
CarolZ says
September 26, 2015 at 1:47 amThese look so good. I’ve got a teeny kitchen, so canning is tough, but I may need to try this. Thanks!
OneHotOven says
September 27, 2015 at 1:27 amHey there, this is a perfect recipe for a tiny kitchen, it only makes two jars.
Dena says
September 25, 2015 at 11:28 pmI have a real hankering for these now. Pinned the recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Shalama says
September 25, 2015 at 11:27 pmCool to see you made pickles. I am getting ready to do the same thing next weekend with the cucumbers I got in my CSA box. Pickles are great. Enjoy them.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:43 amThis batch went by so fast I need to make some more.
Marthana says
September 25, 2015 at 10:19 pmI made these and loved them. This recipe makes a perfect amount and they came out perfect.
Angela says
September 25, 2015 at 2:40 pmI really love this recipe! I will be making it, it seems just so easy! I can’t wait to go buy the items and try this out. Thanks!
karissa says
September 25, 2015 at 3:28 amI use to love pickles when I was a kid but as an adult they aren’t a favorite.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:44 amAs a kid I wouldn’t eat them even though I canned them. Now I find myself craving them.
Pam says
September 25, 2015 at 2:36 amI love bread and butter pickles. One of my favorite things to snack on. These actually look very easy to make and I have been wanting to try making my own. Thanks for the recipe!
Carla A says
September 25, 2015 at 12:39 amThose look fantastic…well worth the work!
Tenacious LittleTerrier says
September 24, 2015 at 10:02 pmThose pickles do look really good! Do they have that name because they traditionally accompany bread and butter?
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:54 amGood question – there seems to be several different theories mostly that they originated during the depression when people would cucumbers with bread and butter. The cucumber were cheap and easy to grown. If you dig deeper they originated in Europe. I thought they originated in my Grandma’s kitchen.
Grace says
September 24, 2015 at 9:58 pmYum! I like making small batches of pickles and the like as well. I don’t want to have to spend all day doing it, but as you said, they’re so much better than store bought! This year I made pickled beets for the first time, and they’re amazing. Now the hard part is rationing them.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:55 amI use to make pickled beets too. We always put hard-boiled eggs in the beet juice.
Reelika @Financially Wise On Heels says
September 24, 2015 at 9:12 pmI love pickles! I can them myself as well and these are really good! Great tips 🙂
April G says
September 24, 2015 at 4:17 pmI’m not sure I’ve ever considered making my own pickles. Since I love them, it may be something I should try.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:57 amApril, you should give these pickles a try. They are easy and actually very fun to make.
Jacqulyn Munns says
September 24, 2015 at 3:26 pmYou had me at pickle. We love pickles in my house. We also love to cook. Last year I bought a whole case of mason jars just sure I was going to make jam. Yes, they sit there in the unopened package today. Today however, I have been inspired by you fabulous photos. I plan to put those jars to good use.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:56 amYou will love them.
Pam McCormick says
September 24, 2015 at 3:05 pmIt’s as if you knew I was going to read your post! I am a pickle lover!! I have never canned anything, but with your great directions and photo, I think I am going to give it a shot. Thank you! 🙂
Rachel says
September 24, 2015 at 1:49 amThese look delicious. The recipe doesn’t look too complicated. I need to give these a try.
Kirsten @ Treat Yourself Sweeter says
September 23, 2015 at 11:25 pmOh! I have never made pickles, but I’d love to try… YUM! I am so going to give this a try. My partner would love them 🙂
MonicaP says
September 23, 2015 at 4:14 pmThis recipe sounds delightfully easy! I really need to make the effort to go to a farmer’s market. We have so many good ones here in San Diego .. I just need to set some time aside so I can go 🙂
Monica.
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 12:59 amI’ve been to some farmers markets in San Diego, they really have a bounty of great fruits and veggies there. I’m from NorCal and feel blessed with the great farmers markets to go to here.
Jessica Lane Massingill says
September 23, 2015 at 2:21 pmThis brings back memories of pickling as a child. I grew up on a farm and we had huge batches to pickle. Homemade pickles are still the best!
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 1:12 amDon’t you love those fond memories?
Jebbica says
September 23, 2015 at 2:06 pmThese look delicious! I LOOOVVVEEE sour pickles, but I’ve never liked sweet pickles. Yours look so tasty though, I’d be willing to give them a second chance! You may convert me yet!
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 1:00 amHey, give these a try, they are probably a 6 on the scale of sweetness.
Yolanda Rooney says
September 23, 2015 at 11:13 amMMMMMM! Those look delicious. I’ve never canned before, but your instructions are great! I love cucumbers in any form 🙂
Zoe says
September 23, 2015 at 10:00 amI’ve always wanted to make pickles! What a great recipe. Do you know if you can use a sugar substitute? I don’t eat sugar. Thank you!
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 1:06 amI don’t know about not using sugar in when making pickles. The sugar is needed to reduce the acidity of the vinegar. I did read that you can replace sugar with honey but you need to reduce the amount by a 1/4 cup since honey is much sweeter than sugar.
Caitlin says
September 23, 2015 at 5:14 amOh my goodness, I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted to eat a bunch of pickles so much as I do right now! I LOVE pickles!! This looks like a fantastic recipe. Do you know if there is much leeway in how much salt needs to be used? I have a health condition right now that requires me to be on a low sodium diet so I’d love to find a way to make lower sodium pickles! Less sodium per pickle means more pickles I get to eat! 🙂 I will definitely add the recipe to my collection, though. Thank you!
OneHotOven says
September 26, 2015 at 1:11 amI think you would be safe to use less salt, the salt makes the pickles softer. You do rinse the cucumbers to get rid of the salt so I think most of the salt would be gone.