Bon Appetit: Bread and Butter Pickles

We have dozens of wonderful cucumbers from the garden this summer. John made 6 pints of relish (the recipe will come later), and today we made pickles. The photos are my own from when we made the pickles using this recipe. The recipe can be found at http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/08/bread-and-butter-pickles. We tasted the pickle juice after we finished canning the pickles. It was wonderful, with a great “bite.” We can’t taste the pickles for one week.

These old-school sandwich pickles strike the perfect sweet-sour balance.

MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS

RECIPE BY Kevin West

AUGUST 2011

John has made a knife that uniformly cuts 1/4 inch slices,
which was perfect for the cucumbers.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 pounds Kirby cucumbers, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch rounds (about 8 cups) (We used the small cucumbers from the garden, about 4-6 inches long.)
• 2 cups thinly sliced red onions (We used a combination of red and yellow.)
• 1/3 cup pickling salt
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 2 Fresno chilies or red jalapeños, pricked with a toothpick (We used green because no red was available. We also cut them into thick slices.)

The cucumbers, onions and salt are ready for the refrigerator.

PREPARATION

• Toss together cucumbers, onions, and salt in a large bowl. Add 3 cups ice; set aside for 2 hours. Drain; rinse well and drain again.

• Combine vinegar and the remaining ingredients with 1 cup water in a large pot; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cucumbers and onions; return to a boil.

• Ladle hot vegetables and pickling liquid into 2 clean, hot 1-quart jars, dividing equally. Press vegetables to completely submerge in liquid, leaving 1/2 inch space on top. Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

After several hours, I drained and rinsed the mixture.

Hungry for More? If you have a question about this recipe, contact our Test Kitchen at askba@bonappetit.com. To see more recipes like this one, check out our Summer Sides Slideshow.

• NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

  1 tablespoon contains:
  Calories (kcal) 19.4
  %Calories from Fat 0.0
  Fat (g) 0.0
  Saturated Fat (g) 0.0
  Cholesterol (mg) 0.0
  Carbohydrates (g) 4.4
  Dietary Fiber (g) 0.4
  Total Sugars (g) 3.5
  Net Carbs (g) 4.0
  Protein (g) 0.2
  Sodium (mg) 60.9

The sterilized pint jars.

The lids waited in a hot water bath.

The first jar is filled.

Seven pints are put into the hot water bath.

The jars have to be covered with boiling water in the canner.

The pickles!

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