Friday, October 26, 2018

Deliciously easy pickles that Andy couldn't stop eating

Pickles - let's talk about them. They are delicious and awesome and all things cucumber. Andy is all about pickles, so are my kids. We also have an abundance of cucumbers - which makes making pickles easier... when you have the needed ingredients. Usually, we struggle growing cucumbers but not this year. This year we have loads of them and they are crisp! Canning pickles is great - but sometimes you lose the crispness. I have used the special crisp crystals to help but more often than not I forget to use them and then it's Russian Rullet - will you open a jar of crisps or mushy pickles - yuck.
I'm an avid follower of Smitten Kitchen - because she's relatable and awesome. She posted this easy recipe for pickles that her family loves. When I say easy... for real - easy. Slice the cucumber and stuff them in a jar, then add salt, fresh dill, and vinegar. That's it. That's all. let the salt pull the moisture from the cucumbers and you have pickles, in a few hours you have pickles. She says you can add things - but Andy didn't need things added... he was eating them like candy and so were our kids. Guess that's a sign of good things.
Guessing I'll be making more of those pickles - probably soon! Good thing we have dill and cucumbers.

Easiest Fridge Dill Pickles
https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/07/easiest-fridge-dill-pickles/
8 larger or to 10 smaller firm, fresh Kirby (pickling) cucumbers
3 teaspoons kosher, coarse or pickling salt (if using a featherweight brand such as Diamond, use a little more)
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup white vinegar

Slice your cucumbers very thin — I used 1/8-inch slices here but usually go even thinner on a mandoline. Place them in a 1-liter or equivalent lidded jar. Add 3 teaspoons salt and dill, then pour in white vinegar. Close the jar and give it a few shakes to begin distributing the ingredients.
You’re going to find the liquid level in the jar worrisomely low as it is well below the pickle pile line, but don’t fret. Within an hour or two, the salt will draw the moisture from the cucumbers and wilt them, while the liquid becomes a perfectly balanced pickle brine.
Place jar in the refrigerator near the front, which should remind you to shake it once or twice more over the new few hours. (Or whenever you’re back at the fridge.) You can eat them as little as 1 to 2 hours later, but they become ideal at 6 to 8 hours. They’ll keep in the fridge, submerged in their brine, for 3 weeks, though never around here.

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