November 28, 2024, 3:41 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
When cucumbers are thriving in the garden, it is often difficult to keep up with consumption. If you don’t want to give away all your cucumbers, you should think about how you can preserve them.
Pickled cucumbers not only have a long shelf life but are also available in different flavors. If you want to pickle cucumbers yourself, you can choose from numerous variations. Whether with dill, garlic, or onions – almost anything is possible. However, there are a few important points to bear in mind. myHOMEBOOK editor Franka Kruse-Gering presents two methods for pickling cucumbers.
These cucumbers are suitable for pickling
Small, large, thin, thick, smooth, or uneven – there are different types of cucumbers. But not every cucumber is suitable for pickling. The small and crunchy ones are particularly good. At weekly markets and supermarkets, suitable cucumbers are also labeled as pickling cucumbers. Salad cucumbers, on the other hand, are less suitable and should be eaten fresh or processed.

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How to pickle cucumbers
You can pickle cucumbers in two different ways. Below are two sample recipes.
- preserving jars or discarded jam jars
- pickling cucumbers
- onion, garlic, dill, mustard seeds and other spices
- vinegar or white wine vinegar
- water
1st variation for pickling cucumbers
- First, you need to make sure that the jars are sterile. To do this, boil them in a saucepan for a few minutes.
- The next step is to clean the cucumbers thoroughly. You can pickle them in wedges, slices, or in one piece.
- Now add the spices to the jars. Again, make sure that all the ingredients are sterile.
- Next, bring the vinegar and water to the boil in a pan. Use a 2:1 ratio of water and vinegar, i.e., two parts water to one part vinegar.
- Pour the boiling water and vinegar mixture directly into the jars filled with cucumbers and spices up to the rim.
After at least two weeks, the cucumbers are ready to eat. The jars should be kept in a dark place so that they keep for as long as possible.
2nd variation for pickling cucumbers
- As with the first option, the jars must be boiled to ensure that they are sterile.
- The ingredients must also be thoroughly cleaned; otherwise, you risk premature spoilage of the pickled cucumbers.
- Vinegar and water are also boiled in this variant, but it is not quite as important to pour the boiling liquid into the filled jars. The mixture can, therefore, be left to cool.
- After filling, the closed jars are placed in the oven. Please note that you should use a deep baking tray with a water level of around three to four centimeters. The water is only boiled briefly at 180 degrees. The jars then remain in the switched-off oven for about 30 minutes.