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Recipe: Spicy Sweet Pickles

Before my cucumber plants bit the dust (the wussies, it was not even to a proper frost, thank you, more like a 38 for a couple of hours), I harvested the last of the fruit and set about making refrigerator pickles.  I’ve tried many other people’s recipes, don’t like B&Bs at all, and think rather highly of this recipe of my own.

I just love the ease of refrigerator pickles.  Combine ingredients, refrigerate for 24 hours, and walla, pickles!  Sure, they don’t last nearly as long as the heat-processed jarred pickles, but what makes you think they’re going to last more than one week anyway??

Spicy Sweet Pickles

Ingredients

  • 5 cups rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 dried red chiles
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 6 smallish cucumbers (I used pariser market and white pearl between 3 and 5 inches long)

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.  
 

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Pour over the sliced cucumbers in spring top jars and refrigerate.  Should keep a week or two…if you can refrain from noshing on them every day.
 

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Here’s how I had some of these the next day, on the side of a ham, white onion and provolone melt:
 

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Fridge pickles are dead easy, mix and match your vinegars and herbs/spices, add more peppers, or less.  Leave out the sugar and add dill weed for dills.  Experiment, you’ll love it!