What could be better with a sandwich or just by itself than a crispy, sweet and salty pickle?When you buy a jar of pickles at the store, you can be reasonably certain that they are well-preserved. But are they so crisp that they just snap when you take a bite? How fresh can they really be?
If you want really fresh pickles, really fast, you've just got to make them yourself. It's not as hard as you might think. In less than half an hour, you can have the pickles in the jar. Tomorrow, you can be putting a pickle on your sandwich.
Cuccumbers go into the jar and 24 hours later, pickles come out. It's simple magic.
One of the best things about pickles besides the crispy snap is the combination of contrasting flavors. At once sweet, savory and salty, these pickles can satisfy just about any craving you might have at all at one time.
Pickles may not be a good choice for those on low sodium diet or low sugar diet. If you can't eat these great little snacks, you can always give them away as gifts. I gave a jar of these to my neighbor last year and she asked me the other day if I would be making more again this year. (I guess she was hinting that she wanted some if I was making them.)
So make up a batch or two or three of these pickles for yourself and keep some aside in case you get into a pickle about what to give someone on your list.
Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
1 cup distilled white vinegar2 cups white sugar
7 cups cucumbers, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 cup onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon coarse salt
- Combine cucumbers, onion and garlic in a bowl.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, salt and celery seed. Slowly heat the mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Remove it immediately from the heat and cool it just a bit.
- Pour the liquid over the cucumber mixture and make sure it is stirred well.
- Put the cucumbers and liquid in an airtight container.Seal and store in refrigerator for at least 24 hours before eating.
- Pickles will keep about 3 months in the refrigerator.
