Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Freezer Pickles

I am going to try these next summer when the cukes are coming out of the garden by the dozen.  I have memories of making pickles at Grandma's when I was a kid, it involved a lot of cooking usually on the hottest day of summer.  I don't think I appreciated how good those pickles were back then. 

2 large cucumbers
2 shallots
1/2 green pepper (optional)
1-2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 C. cider or wine vinegar
3-5 tbsp. granulated sugar
A good pinch of ground tumeric and celery or dill seeds or 1/2-1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds.

Scrub and slice the cucumbers thinly.  Slice the shallot into wafer thin slices and finely chop the green pepper if using.

Put the vegetables in a large bowl, sprinkle the salt over the top, mix well and leave for 2 hours to draw out the moisture.

Transfer the vegetabels to a colander, rinse in cold water; and drain well, pressing them down lightly to squeeze out the moisture.  Then put them into a clean dry bowl.

Mix the vinegar and the sugar to taste.  Stir the liquid to dissolve the sugar; then add the spices.  Pour the  mix over the vegetables, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer to clean portion sized freezer safe containers ieaving 1/2 inch of space at the top.  Seal label and freeze.  To use, thaw overnight in the fridge, then keep refrigerated and use within 1 week.

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