Refrigerator Pickles

Refrigerator Pickles - Two Weeks Ago

I was reading some vegan blogs and saw that a few different bloggers had made "refrigerator pickles" using simple ingredients and non-complicated methods.  I decided to give it a shot a couple of weeks ago, so I have the official "before" and "after" results!  You need to combine the ingredients in a jar and let it sit for two weeks in the refrigerator before consuming.  That was tricky as we kept being tempted by these delicious looking pickles in the fridge.  You must wait at least two weeks for the delicious flavors to be soaked into the cucumbers and believe me - it was worth the wait!

Refrigerator Pickles - Two Weeks Later!

These do not taste like average pickles that you would buy at the grocery store.  They taste very crunchy and fresh like a cucumber, but tangy and spicy like pickles!  I find that they even have a very subtle sweetness to them.  After tasting them, Paul told me that they were the best pickles he's ever eaten!  If you love pickles but don't want to go to all of the trouble of making traditional homemade pickles, I would definitely give this a shot. 

Here's what you need:

1 cucumber or 2-3 pickling cucumbers (I used 6 baby cucumbers sliced in half)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
few sprigs fresh dill
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp pickling spices (I bought a pre-made one)
pinch red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed (I used several)
1 tbsp sugar
(I also added a few hot peppers, sliced in half, for extra heat)

Chop the cucumbers into spears, slice the majority of seeds off if you have cucumbers with lots of seeds (not necessary for the baby cucumbers).  Put all of the ingredients except the dill, cucumber, garlic, and hot peppers into a jar; cover and shake.  Put the cucumber, garlic, hot pepper and dill into the jar.  Top with water if necessary to cover the cucumbers.  Refrigerate for at least 10-14 days before consuming.