Pickled Cucumbers

Note:
Cucumbers are often in abundance in my vegie patch during Summer. There are so many things you can do with them… but what happens if you want to eat them during the Winter months? Pickle them of course! This recipe was part of the Preserving Workshops for a course called The Complete Urban Farmer at CERES.

This recipe makes 3 litres (12 cups) of pickled cucumbers.

Ingredients:
750g small Lebanese cucumbers
2/3 cup of fresh dill leaves (1/4 cup of dried if you can’t find fresh)
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt (aka ‘un-iodised’. If you use normal iodised table salt, the liquid will go cloudy).

Instructions:
1. Sterilise your jars before you begin.
2. Wash the cucumbers and dry well.
3. Thinly slice cucumbers and layer in a cool sterilised jar, alternatively with the dill and peppercorns. You might want to use a chopstick to hold down the layers as you reach the top of the jar.
4. Combine the water, vinegar and salt in a medium saucepan.
5. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat.
6. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers in the jar. Leave about an inch at the top of the jar to assist with the ‘vacuum’.
7. Seal the jar immediately.
8. Set aside for at least 1 week before serving. Store jar at room temperature until opened.

Shelf life:
Keeps up to 6 months unopened.
Once opened, keeps in the fridge for up to 8 weeks.

Kudos:
Many thanks to my parents for this recipe