To Pickle Cucumbers
Ingredients
Directions
Brine the cucumbers
In a large pot, combine 1 gallon of water with ½ cup of coarse sea salt.
Scald the saltwater and pour it over the cucumbers.
Repeat this process every 24 hours for a total of nine times.
Pickle
On the tenth morning, drain the cucumbers.
Scald the vinegar with spices and pour it over the cucumbers.
Use genuine cider vinegar for best results.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers and seasons them during the repeated brining.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that preserves the cucumbers and gives them their sour flavour.
- Spices
- Add aroma and flavour to the pickling liquid.
The step that matters
Repeating the saltwater pour every 24 hours. Repeated brining over several days gradually draws water and salt into the cucumbers, seasoning them and firming their texture. Skipping or shortening the repeats changes how seasoned and crisp the final pickles become.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More pickled cucumbers recipes
You might also like
Delicate Cake246 recipes
Boiled Frosting69 recipes
Citron Cake68 recipes
Scotch Cake63 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.