Easy Fresh Dill Pickles

A simple and naturally flavored homemade dill pickle featuring fresh cucumbers, dill, salt, and vinegar.  Stored in the refrigerator, this makes dill-icious spears or sliced pickles.

What do you do when you find yourself surrounded by the prettiest fresh cucumbers your garden has ever offered up?

Seriously! I can’t overemphasize how pleased I am with my garden crop of cucumbers this year. Last year, I had incredible big sandwich tomatoes and zucchini. This year, I am not realizing as much of either. But I am super proud of my cucumbers – and there’s a huge reason why. I almost didn’t have cucumbers at all this year.

You see, earlier this year, I was cursed with a very late spring with a lot of frost and colder weather. I planted my little seeds, but they wouldn’t sprout at all. So I broke down and purchased some seedlings, including a little cucumber – but it didn’t look so healthy. Regardless, I was optimistic. Meanwhile, my husband helped me build a wood frame to secure a netting for my cucumbers to grow.

However, we then had three more long weeks of freeze warnings and early morning frost.

By the time I was able to plant my little backyard garden, my sickly cucumber had died. I planted the rest of my little garden and set off to find a cucumber plant. How hard can it be?! It took several trips to many stores over the course of a few weeks. By this point, I was frustrated. Finally, I found a nursery with a set of four cucumber seedlings. I just had to buy them – one of these little cucumbers would take off. They had to!

As it turns out, all four cucumber plants thrived. I didn’t intend to have four climbing cucumber plants. But there they are, happily growing all over my netting. Every morning and every afternoon, I went out to visit my little garden. I help them along their way to ensure they aren’t overcrowding each other or their neighbors. Though sometimes they do get a little rambunctious and I have to redirect them or prune them back a little more than they like.

And then their gorgeous little yellow blossoms and fruit started popping up all over! It was a beautiful sight to see! And I couldn’t have been more proud or more pleased. I was going to have a bounty of magnificent cucumbers!! It was a fantastic moment for me.

About this same time, I noticed that my zucchini fruit was not growing. The fruit and flowers appeared and then the fruit just died. And I couldn’t figure out why this was happening. Then Google helped me learn that my zucchini female flowers needed to be pollinated by male flowers. Talk about a lesson about the birds and the bees! Who knew this was a thing?!

This was definitely not an issue in years past. I’m still baffled why it’s a thing this year. But now that I know it’s an issue, I conscientiously pollinate my female flowers with male flower pollen. And I’m happy to report that my manual pollination technique does work! Not only am I starting to enjoy some beautiful zucchini every week, my glorious little bees finally started helping me out with the heavy lifting. I just need to keep pruning back the bigger leaves so the bees can see the flowers.

Back to my cucumbers. After a couple of weeks, I noticed all the little cucumber fruits weren’t actually growing – not. at. all. The flowers were wilting and the little cucumber fruits were turning yellow and shriveling up and dying, literally dying on my vines. What was happening?! It appeared that my cucumbers were experiencing a similar issue as the zucchini. Again, I have no idea why this occurred this year and not in years past. But here we are.

The strange thing is my cucumbers do not have any male flowers – zero male pollen for the bees to carry over to the female flowers. After a couple of weeks of wondering when the males were going to show up, I did something a little unorthodox. It is probably very very wrong on all kinds of levels. But I admittedly did it as an experiment.

After a week or so, something extraordinary happened. My cucumbers began to grow!!! And they are perfect!! I couldn’t ask for better cucumbers. They’re crisp and flavorful. They’re growing so well.

So what did I do? I used my little paintbrush to take a little zucchini male pollen to my little cucumber female flowers. And I did this every single morning. And surprisingly, this cross-pollination really works! Now the bees are helping me out with my little cucumber pollination and I couldn’t be more pleased! So yeah, male pollen seems to work across my zucchini and cucumbers. What a blessing!

The result is incredible Super Salad Sandwiches, cucumber slices for Chipotle Hummus, Avocado Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Roasted Eggplant Spread, and flavorful Chopped Salads. All in all, I’m absolutely thrilled with my cucumber crop this year!! I’ve learned so many different things that I didn’t know before. So honestly, I might have missed out initially on my crops, but now that I have a couple tricks up my garden gloves, I feel a lot more connected to my plants. And that’s pretty cool.

I love cucumbers. Normally, my garden only produces enough for me to enjoy one or two each week. This year, I can have as much as I want! So I decided to make some pickles. After all, pickles are an incredible condiment. And they’re a staple in the food scene for a reason. Pickles are absolutely dillicious on a burger and sandwich. You know I couldn’t help myself… And they’re just as tasty chopped up as pickle relish in potato salad. And what about that pickle spear served with a good sandwich or burger? Yum!

One quick note about the size of cucumbers to use to make pickles. I prefer using smaller cucumbers, but any cucumber makes tasty pickles. It’s just that the larger the cucumber, the more abundant the seeds. And as the cucumber grows, so do the seeds. It’s not a deal breaker, just something to consider. The bigger cucumbers make fantastic Easy Dill Spears; but even then, I have to cut the ends off to get them to fit inside the jars. And that’s okay, too. I can use the cut off ends in salads, bowls, or relish.

But then again, we’re normally cautious with our pickle consumption. Because, like any condiment, pickles tend to contain quite a bit of sodium. Of course there are reasons for this. First, salt is used as a preservative. As a result, pickles may last a long time. Second, salt enhances the flavor of pickles by balancing out that super tart vinegar brine that the pickles are nestled in.

So let’s chat about the salt for a minute. Sodium Chloride is forty percent sodium and sixty percent chloride. One teaspoon of salt contains 2300 mg of sodium – coincidentally, this happens to be the recommended daily sodium intake limit for a healthy adult. However, if you have cardiac disease or high blood pressure, you should limit your sodium to 1500 mg per day. And this is why we ordinarily limit the number of pickles on our burgers or sandwiches, or avoid it altogether. (Healthline)

But since my husband really enjoys a good crunchy dill pickle, I had to make these Easy Fresh Dill Pickles for him. I use three teaspoons of salt. And though that may seem like quite a bit, the salt is spread across four pints and a whole lot of brine and pickles. In full disclosure, this equates to 1,743 mg of sodium per jar. But since the pickles don’t fully absorb all of the sodium from the brine and the brine is normally not consumed, I know this has to be something less than 200 mg per spear (if there are 8-9 spears in a jar) and less than half of that for one ounce of sliced pickles.

The good news is these Easy Fresh Dill Pickles are super easy to make! Simply wash and slice or quarter your cucumbers to make pickle chips or spears, make the brine by heating the solution on the stove, then pour the brine over your cucumbers. And that’s it! You now have tasty pickles to enjoy whenever you want to make a dill-icious sandwich or burger. I still can’t help it!

I love that you can add in more garlic or dill if you choose. I like adding a dash of crushed red pepper flakes to heat things up a notch. It enhances these pickles nicely, without making them overly spicy. You should definitely try it for yourself. If you prefer a bit more traditional coloring, you can add a smidge of turmeric for coloring, but it’s purely for aesthetics.

The nice thing about these pickles is that they’re ready to enjoy a few hours after you make them. Though they are best if you can wait a few days. This allows the garlic, pepper, and dill flavors to absorb more readily into the pickles. But sometimes, I just can’t wait…

Once your pickles cool to room temperature, transfer them to the refrigerator for up to one month. Which brings up an important point. Technically, this is a refrigerator pickle recipe. And since they don’t contain as much salt as a traditional pickle recipe, they may not last as long. Regardless of the type of jar you use, these pickles should last for one full month when stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

However, if you follow these instructions and use a canning jar with a sealing lid and ring, you should get a good seal on your jars. A sealed and unopened jar of pickles should easily last three months in the refrigerator. But even the sealed jars of pickles need to be stored in the refrigerator since they aren’t canned. I can not emphasize this enough. This is why some pickles are sold in the refrigerated section of your local grocer. If you want to can your pickles, you can process them in a hot water bath.

And the good news is these pickles can be enjoyed the next day; but like I said, the flavor is best if you wait at least four or five days. They’re fantastic on sandwiches, wraps, and burgers.

These Easy Fresh Dill Pickles are tangy, have a nice crunch in every bite, are nice and crisp, have a little zesty zing, and are bright and tart! As I mentioned previously, I absolutely love these pickles on my sandwiches and burgers.

I hope you enjoy this Easy Fresh Dill Pickles as much as I do.  

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds small/medium cucumbers (about 8-9)
• 2½ cups apple cider, rice, or white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 3 tsp sea salt, kosher salt, or pickling salt*
• 2 Tbsp raw sugar or maple syrup
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 4 tsp whole peppercorns
• 2 tsp whole mustard seeds
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 4 bay leaves 
• 16 heads fresh dill

Instructions

1. Rinse the cucumbers well with fresh water.  Slice the cucumbers in coins or cut them in quarters lengthwise to create spears.  (The shape depends on your intended use.). You can use a mandolin to create uniform slices, though a large sharp knife works just as well.

1. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the white vinegar, water, sugar, and salt over high heat until boiling. Turn off heat.

1. Meanwhile, Transfer the cucumbers to hot sterilized pint-size jars.  To each pint-sized jar, add 1 smashed clove of garlic, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 4 heads fresh dill, ½ tsp mustard seed, and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, if using.
2. Pour the hot water-vinegar solution over the cucumbers, leaving ¼to ½ inch space from the rim of the jar.

1. Cover the jars with sealing lids and secure with the corresponding canning rings. Turn the jars upside down for 15 minutes.  Then turn the jars right-side up and allow to continue cooling to room temperature.**
2. If the seals are good, label (date) and store the sealed pickles in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.**  If the jars did not seal properly, store the pickles in air-tight jars or containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.**
3. These pickles can be enjoyed the next day; but the flavor is best if you wait at least 4-5 days.

Notes

* Your salt should not contain any additives, anti-caking agents, or fillers – good choices include pickling salt, kosher salt, or pure sea salt. Since the course varies slightly, you need to taste the brine to see if you prefer to add more salt.  I purposely use less salt.

** Proper Canning Seal: You’ll know the seal is successful if there is no give on the lid.  If you can press down and feel the sealing lid give or move or hear it popping as you press down, the jar did not get a good seal and must be refrigerated. My lids show a visible ring or circle in the center when I have a good seal. Check out the third photo above.

This recipe makes about 4 pint-sized jars of pickles (16 ounce jars), but it really depends on how small or large your pickles are and the shape and size of your jar.