Homemade Refrigerator Pickles

Look ma, no canning needed!

That's right, you too can turn your overflowing cucumber crop into delicious homemade pickles without the fuss of canning.  And the best part....it only takes a few minutes to mix together and then about a day to soak in the flavor before you can enjoy crisp, sweet/sour/spicy pickles straight out of the container.

See, you can turn something like this (my cucumbers from my Bergefurd's Farm 1/2 CSA Share)....



















Into This!


















The recipe that inspired me called for the vinegar and sugar mixture (which I'll call the "juice") to be boiled in order to dissolve everything in.  It was 10:40PM when I made these pickles and I was too lazy to dirty another dish and heat up the stove.  So, I winged it.  I just put the sugar straight into the vinegar and then stirred it vigorously with a spoon.  Low and behold, it worked just fine and dissolved without much work.  I imagine that the amount of sugar you want to put in would also affect the solubility and whether you'd need the heat to help you out.  The original recipe had quite a bit of sugar in the juice but I cut it in half based on recipe reviews so that probably helped on the non-heated solubility front.  The carrots, banana peppers, and dill...those I added because I had them.  I think they were a nice flavor addition :).

Okay now let me let you in on an odd secret of mine.  I don't even like pickles.  No...that's an understatement.  I generally DESPISE pickles.  They're so salty and sour and not that fresh tasting and blech just overwhelming!  (How's that for a run-on sentence?).  Oddly enough, I DO have an affinity for sweet relish though.   And now, I have a new found respect for these pickles.  Yes, all very strange, I know.

Go make these pickles you (non-)pickle lovers, you!

Homemade Refrigerator Pickles
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Prep Time: 10 Min
Chill Time: At least 1 day
Ready In: 1 day

Ingredients

• 1 cup distilled white vinegar (or you can substitute/mix in some cider vinegar if you like it a little sweeter)
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablspoon onion powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 6 cups sliced cucumbers, cut into slices or spears as you prefer
• 1 cup sliced peppers of your choice
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots, matchstick-style
• Fresh dill (optional)
• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. In a glass jar or plastic tupperware container, stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, and onion powder until well dissolved.  If using dill and crushed red pepper, add them to the container, too.
2. Place the cucumbers, onions, peppers and carrots in container.  Ensure that the liquid covers all of the solid contents.
3. Store in the refrigerator at least 1 day before enjoying.

Source: Inspired by All Recipes