Too long were we tempted by the pickling cukes: smaller, cuter and cheaper ($1.25 per pound-ish), are they, than their cousins, the regular old eatin’ cukes. Too long were we intimidated by the prospect of buying a bunch and practicing whatever alchemy transforms them from plain veggies to preservation superstars. It did not make sense. We’ve made kraut, we’ve conquered yogurt. We have even had a successful batch or two of kombucha.
And so last week, at the Cambridgeport farmers’ market, we bought as many pickling cukes as we could fit in our hands from Stillman’s and a pretty bit of dill from the Hmong farm. We agreed to sacrifice a half-gallon ball jar that Just Dairy usually fills with our milk (sorry Just Dairy, we’ll return it…eventually!) and make. it. work. People!
Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions guided us through a very simple pickling process — seriously, I put a load of laundry in downstairs and when I came up, Darry had started and finished — and we can proudly say we’re now on Day 3 of having a big pretty jar with almost-pickles on our counter. We cracked open the lid and they’re smelling like pickles for sure.
Here’s the recipe from Sally — for 1 quart
4-5 picklin cukes
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons fresh dill
2 tablespoons of sea salt
1 cup of filtered water
-wash the cukes; put ‘em in the jar
-combine remaining ingredients and pour them over the cukes, adding more water if necessary to cover the cukes
-cover tightly and leave at room temp for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage
-we’re guessing you leave it in cold storage about 2-3 weeks for it to get real pickly… but it varies, and is up to your pickliness preference