A few weeks ago at the Boulder Farmers’ Market, most stalls were advertising ‘pickling cucumbers.’ I have always wanted to try making pickles, and thought of the process as long, involving cooking the brine and adding sugar and waiting.
When I realized that it could be a simple process of shaking together some ingredients in the fridge, I was on board! Let me quote Portlandia for a quick second, because I really felt like “We can pickle that!” (please please watch that video clip if you have no idea what I’m talking about).
- 2 pounds firm-skinned seedless cucumbers
- ½ pound green beans
- ½ pound carrots
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 6 or 7 wide-mouth pint jars
- Slice your cucumbers and carrots into desired shapes- whether spears or disks- knowing that the thinner you slice, the more 'pickled' they will become. Clean and trim green beans.
- Place vegetables into jars, mixing as desired. I did jars with only pickles and then jars with green beans and carrots.
- Chop fresh dill and garlic and divide them up over top of the jars, along with the salt.
- Divide up the white vinegar between jars. The line of liquid should not go more than a quarter of the way up the jars. Close the jars tightly and give them a good shake to disperse the dill, garlic, and salt.
- Place the jars in the refrigerator and flip them upside down after 2 hours. Repeat this flipping process a few times over the next day, as you remember or as you are at the fridge.
- The pickles are ready after a day or so, and keep for 2+ weeks. Do not drain the brining liquid.
I loosely followed this recipe for proportions, and we adjusted as we went to our tastes. While I collaborated with a friend to make a bigger batch than you might want, this recipe is easy to halve (or even quarter if you just want a jar or two!).
There is something lovely about biting into a perfect pickle, and the green beans and carrots ended up being my favorite out of the bunch! I have added them into salads, had them as snacks, and gifted them to friends!
P.S. Could this green + orange color combination from this post be more perfect for my site? Love.
Marisa
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I have always always always wanted to make my own pickles! It seems easy enough! I just need some good jars now…
Marisa says
I buy mine at the hardware store and find that they’re the cheapest around!
Alex @ DelishKnowledge says
I’ve always wanted to make pickles as well! Never tried but will be doing so now- these look awesome!
Marisa says
Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I have been wondering about how to do this for awhile now. Thanks for sharing!
Marisa says
No problem, Hannah!
Cassie says
I have been DYING to make my own pickles and onions… how did you read my mind???
Marisa says
You know… psychic 😉
katie says
Yum! I love pickled green beans but can’t do the whole canning process, I need to make these!
Marisa says
Thanks for stopping by, Katie!