Cute Pickles: Easy Homemade Gherkins by the Pint
Discover cute pickles for every pretty pickle lover! An easy gherkins recipe for quick pickles, similar to cornichons, for tiny pickles cravings!
Equipment
- 1-2 Pint-sized canning jars, lids, and bands
- 1 Small metal saucepan with lid
- 1 Large stock pot
- 1 Large ladle
- 1 Funnel optional
Ingredients
- 6 cups cider vinegar
- 6 cups water
- ½ cup canning salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For Each Pint
- 1 garlic clove cut in half
- 1 piece of dill
- ½ teaspoon mustard seed
- 8-12 small pickling cucumbers
Instructions
- For cute pickles (gherkins) harvest pickling cucumbers when they are around 2 inches long.
- Rinse the pickles and rub off the prickly spines. Also rub off the blossom end of the pickle to help ensure a crispy pickle product.
- Optional: For extra crispy pickles, soak cucumbers in ice water for a few hours or overnight. This helps to hydrate the cucumbers and maintain their crispness during the canning process.
- For 1-2 pints of refrigerator pickles, gently heat glass pint-sized canning jar(s) and lid(s) in a pan of water.
- While the jar or jars and lids are heating, combine the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a large non-aluminum stockpot to make the pickling brine. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Remove jar(s) from water, place the garlic, dill, mustard seed, and pickling cucumbers in each jar.
- Fill each jar with the pickling brine, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, using a funnel, if you have one. Put any extra brine in jars and refrigerate for later when you have another pint or two of cute pickles to prepare.