It is cucumber season here at the Robbinsdale Schlenks, and this year I’ve been making refrigerator pickles with the early crop. I have however eaten them — some homemade, some store bought — and I find them pretty irresistible. The crunch and brightness they have compared to even the best water bath processed pickles is undeniably better. A lot of the commercial offerings have a pretty pronounced calcium chloride flavor that I don’t enjoy. It’s added to extend the length of time that the cucumbers remain crisp, which isn’t necessary in most homemade situations, and definitely not for me given the rate at which I’m consuming them. 😋

Having never made them, I checked cookbooks and online recipes and decided to start with a really simple brine – just vinegar, water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and mustard seeds. The resulting pickles were good, but not great. They were a little too vinegar forward and lacked depth. I tweaked the recipe over a few more batches and landed on something I really like.

several jars of refrigerator pickles refrigerating

Brine (enough for 2-3 well packed pint jars):

3/4 cup white vinegar

I’m 1 cup water

1 tbsp pickling salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp whole mustard seeds

1/2 tsp whole peppercorns

1 – 2 tsp dill seeds (optional; see note)

1/2 tsp coriander (optional)

1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)

Pinch of celery seed (optional)

1 bay leaf (optional)

Note: The dill seed is optional if you have fresh dill, which is added to the jars directly in the next step.

Make the brine ahead of time by adding all ingredients to a saucepan and bringing it to a boil. Cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator if not packing jars as soon as it cools. Play with the inclusion and amounts of the optional items to suit your preference.

Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water.

When you and the brine and the jars are all ready, place in each jar:

1 – 2 heads of dill and/or as much dill fronds as you like (optional; see note above)

1 – 3 peeled and smashed garlic cloves (follow your heart)

Next, pack the jars with spears, whole baby, slices, etc (spears are my favorite). Really wedge them in there so they don’t float up once you add the brine.

Add the cooled brine to each jar until all the cucumbers are submerged. Use a funnel if someone else is doing the dishes. Keep any leftover brine for your next batch.

Place lids on the jars and place in the refrigerator for two days. Supposedly they keep for a month or so. I usually get through them in a week.

You can reuse the brine once, topping off with some fresh vinegar as needed.