Bread & Butter Pickles

These pickles became popular during the Great Depression when they were eaten in sandwiches with only butter because there was nothing else. But this year I decided to make these because they’re just so good! These pickles are sweet and crunchy with bursts of mustard & celery seeds. Underlying that are hints of peppercorns and cloves. Turmeric is what gives the brine that touch of gold. With enough jars of these around for winter, there will be no searching for what to elevate your sandwiches with and many a snack attack will be put to an end.

The best cucumbers for pickling are the small ones. They’re usually labelled as such at the farmer’s market, so you can’t miss them.  You can use large cucumbers as long as they are firm and not loaded with too many seeds.

Slice the cucumbers into ¼ inch coins–it’s better to make them too thick than too thin. If they are too thin, they might end up broken or with holes in them. If that does happen, oh well—they will still taste great!

Also slice three onions, a red bell pepper and some garlic. Originally bread & butter pickles were made with green bell peppers, but don’t you think a red one adds more color? These you can slice fairly thin because they are much more firm. You can either roughly chop the garlic, but slicing it is nice also.

Now add the salt. You can’t just use regular table salt—use pickling salt. You can also use kosher salt. Do not use sea salt because it can make pickles darken, and don’t use rock salt. This is used in older ice cream makers and for melting ice on the sidewalk. It is not even meant for human consumption.

Mix in the salt—using your hands is the easiest way to do it. Make sure every piece of vegetable gets coated with salt.

Adding ice ensures crispy pickles. For the amount I made I used two trays—one to mix in and one to cover on top. Place some plastic wrap over this and refrigerate for four hours.

Even though some of this liquid is from the ice that melted, a lot of it came from the cucumbers. Drain this and rinse the salt off VERY well (like for a few minutes).

Mustard seeds, celery seeds, peppercorns, cloves and turmeric are the spices that make this brine. If you think there won’t be enough to cover your pickles, don’t worry, there will be!

Once the cucumbers are in the brine, keep them on the heat until they come to a boil. When they do, turn off the heat and leave the pot on the burner long enough to draw enough liquid out of the cucumbers to barely cover them.

At this point you can either transfer these into hot sterilized jars and process them in a water canner for ten minutes, or you can simply refrigerate them. Everything is cured and bathing in brine, so they will last almost indefinitely in the fridge. I decided to can them.

And that’s it, guys! Let these sit for at least 3-4 weeks before cracking into them to let the flavors mature. Now you can enjoy these crispy coins of goodness in sandwiches, burgers, as and accompaniment to any meal or just as a snack!

https://icookandpaint.com/bread-butter-pickles/