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how to make homemade pickles
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Homemade Dill Pickles

Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword pickles
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Refrigerator 3 days
Total Time 3 days 25 minutes
Servings 1 jar

Equipment

  • 16 oz mason jar
  • medium stockpot

Ingredients

  • 4-6 large pickling cucumbers
  • 8-10 sprigs dill weed
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 drops Dill Vitality Essential Oil
  • 1 drop Black Pepper Essential Oil
  • 16 oz wide mouth mason jar

Instructions

  • Clean mason jars with warm soapy water and let them dry completely.
    cucumbers pickle recipe
  • Wash cucumbers and cut into 4-inch spears. Peel garlic and leave whole.
    sliced pickles pickle recipe
  • Place the cucumbers in the mason jar first, packing them in tightly. Surround the cucumbers with equal amounts of garlic cloves and dill sprigs. Add more cucumbers until there is no space between the vegetables and the jar.
    pickles pack din jars
  • Add 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds and 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes to each jar.
    dill pickles with red pepper flakes mustard seeds
  • In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a roaring boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and divide the liquid equally between the two jars. Let cool to room temperature.
    homemade pickle brine
  • Once cool, add essential oils, seal the lid, and place it in the back of the fridge. After 2 days, sample a pickle from a jar. It should be crisp and slightly sour. You should be able to easily snap it in two clean pieces. If they are still kind of soggy, leave them be for another day or so before eating. Enjoy!

Notes

  • You can use any variety of cucumbers, depending on what is fresh and in stock. I would recommend using organic cucumbers since you will be eating the skin. If using small cucumbers, you can leave them whole, or slice them into chips.
  • The base of the pickling brine is salt, vinegar, and water. You can add more sugar if you want to sweeten them up. You can add or omit any of the ingredients in this recipe to your liking.
  • Add peppers to increase the heat like red serranos or jalapenos. You can also add bell peppers to reduce the level of spice.
  • The dill and black pepper essential oil should be added at the very end once the brine has cooled off a bit. Adding the oils to hot or boiling liquid will compromise the flavor.