Small-Batch Bread and Butter Pickles

Small-Batch Bread and Butter Pickles

I really wanted some bread and butter pickles! I haven’t made them for years, but I kind of remembered the process, and I knew it was pretty easy. We used to make them now and then before the kids were born. (the kids are now 30 and 35!) So, I began my research. So many recipes; so many experts; so many testimonials!! So, I used my common sense, put together what I thought were probably the best elements of each, cut down the amounts of ingredients, so that 1) I didn’t waste a whole batch of ingredients making something that we didn’t like, or 2) we didn’t have jars of pickles sitting around forever, since we only eat them once in a while. So, the process, as expected, was fairly straightforward and simple. I bought smaller cucumbers, because that’s my preference, and I also bought smaller 8 oz canning jars. This recipe allowed me to fully fill 3 of those 8 oz canning jars. Needless to say, next time, I’m sure I will AT LEAST double the recipe! I don’t know if I could improve on these, for my tastes, at least! They were just perfect to me!

Ingredients:

1 lb (about 6 skinny 6” cucumbers), sliced
1 small sweet onion, cut and slivered into small pieces
2 tbsp kosher salt

Brine:

1 cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cups sugar
1 ½ tbsp pickling spices (I ordered an organic mixture from Amazon)
½ tsp celery seeds
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ground cloves

Directions

Wash cucumbers well under running water and cut into 1/4-inch slices discarding ends. Peel onion and slice thinly.

Combine the cucumber and onions a large bowl. Scatter the (kosher or canning) salt over the top, toss, and cover with ice and water, and place in the fridge to let stand for about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, make your brine:
In a pot, combine sugar, vinegars, pickling spices, celery seed, ground turmeric, and cloves. Heat just to a boil.

Drain and rinse the cucumbers and onions under fresh water. Add the drained cucumber and onion slices to the pot of pickling brine and return to boil. Reduce heat and keep warm as you fill your jars.

Add the warm pickles and brine to the warm jars and process in a water bath canner. Let the pickles stand for about 4 weeks to develop flavor. (I admit…I could only wait a week! They were SOOOOO good!!)