At the end of summer during the Great Depression the excess cucumber crop was sliced, salted, pickled, and put up in jars for the cold, lean months ahead. I can just imagine what a treat it was to fill a sandwich with these sweet crunchy coins (bread and butter pickles, as they came to be known). I'm sure it was a wonderful break from what must have been a fairly flavorless existence. For longer storage, you can process the pickles in canning jars in a boiling water canner.
Ingredients
- pickling cucumbers: 2 pound (sliced)
- yellow onion: 0.5 piece (sliced)
- red jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced into rings: 2 piece
- kosher salt: 3 Tbsp
- distilled white vinegar: 2 cups
- white sugar: 2 cups
- water: 0.25 cup
- garlic: 2 clove (sliced)
- mustard seed: 1 Tbsp
- celery seeds: 1 tsp
- whole black peppercorns: 1 tsp
- ground turmeric: 0.5 tsp
- ground cloves: 0.125 tsp
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Combine cucumbers, onion, and peppers in a bowl; pour kosher salt over the top and stir to coat completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, 2 to 4 hours. Rinse cucumber mixture in a colander under cold water until all salt is washed away, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
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Stir vinegar, sugar, water, garlic, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns, turmeric, and ground cloves together in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and cook until brine flavors combine, about 2 minutes. Add cucumber mixture to brine; heat until almost boiling, remove from heat, and cool completely. Transfer to jars and store in the refrigerator. Chef John
