Homemade Pickles

I am currently sitting in Germany finishing up this blog post and couldn’t be happier. While Germany isn’t the location I would choose long-term (I’ll explain in my Prague-Dresden post), I would love to have the freedom to work from anywhere and explore more. This trip has solidified our goal to both have jobs that can be done in any time zone. Since I’m on vacation, I’ll make this short and sweet.

I’m a big fan of pickles and when I found out many of the store bought variety had a TON of sugar added, I tried to start making my own. The wonderful thing about these pickles is that you can customize them to your own taste. If you like the spicier pickles, add more peppers. If you prefer a standard pickle, remove the pepper, increase the dill. These keep for a long time in the fridge and make it convenient to add to burgers, sandwiches, or chopped up to make a relish.

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Homemade Pickles

• 12 Kirby cucumbers

• 3/4 cup Pickling salt or kosher salt

• 2/3 cup white vinegar

• 1/3 cup Apple Cider vinegar

• 1 TBS deli mustard

• 1 tsp honey

• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced

• 1-2 red chili pepper (optional)

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp dill

• 2 16oz mason jars

1. Slice the cucumbers in even pieces, about 1/4 in thick (or use a mandolin or food processor attachment). You’ll want them to be thin enough to pickle but thick enough to keep that nice crunch.

2. Place cucumber slices in a bowl and pour the pickling salt or kosher salt over top and mix gently to coat

3. Chill cucumbers in the fridge for at least 30 minutes

4. Slice 1/2 yellow onion in thin strips

5. Slice the chili pepper, if you want a little hint of spice.

6. Rinse all the salt off the cucumbers with cold water

7. Stack the cucumbers, onion, and peppers evenly into the 2 mason jars. This should be a tight fit for everything.

8. In a small sauce pan whisk 2/3 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 TBS mustard, and 1 tsp honey over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Continue to simmer for 3 minutes

9. Whisk in the turmeric and dill, turn off the heat

10. Pour the liquid evenly over both jars of cucumbers. This should fill up the jars to the top. Depending on the size of your cucumbers you may have extra or not quite enough liquid. Add even ratio of vinegar and water to fill up the remaining space.

11. Add the lids to both jars and keep out on the counter until the liquid has cooled.

12. Keep in the fridge for 24 hours before using.