Quarantine Pickles! Quick Fridge Pickles with Pantry Staples
I giggled when I dubbed these ‘quarantine pickles’ mainly because it feels very ‘I’m making weird things in jail out of commissary items’ but also because technically I am not in quarantine, but like most of America we are in the middle of a ‘shelter in place’ order during the Covid-19 outbreak. Usually I don’t make pickles in the early spring, but because I have lots of cucumbers in the fridge right now and I want to make sure that they don’t go bad over the next couple of weeks before I get back to the grocery store, I decided to pickle them! Thus, Quarantine Pickles were born, but essentially they are regular pickles just with a few differences based on availability.
The ingredients I used in these pickles are fairly common in most pantries, and it doesn’t require the cute little pickling cukes that you get in the height of summer. Instead we can raid our spice cabinets and bulk drawers for goodies- no having to pop out to the grocery store on this one! As with so many of my recipes, with the exception of the base try to mix and match! Want more garlic? Add it! Want them to be a bit spicy? Pop some red pepper flakes in the mix. The opportunities are endless, and with so much time on our hands why not tap into our culinary creative side!
Quarantine Pickle Ingredients
2 Cucumbers
1 Cup White Vinegar
1 Cup Filtered Water
1.5 TBS Salt
1 Tsp Dill Seed
2 Tsp Dill Leaf (Optional)
1 Tsp Mustard Seed
4 Cloves Garlic
2 Bay Leaves
Quarantine Pickle Instructions
1 In a sauce pan on medium heat make your brine! You use one part vinegar to one part water (I used one cup each for two pint jars) mix with salt and bring to a boil.
2 Meanwhile, chop your cucumbers and stuff them into two pint mason jars! I like a thick pickle slice, but if you prefer sandwich style, break out your mandolin! I love being able to add thin pickles into sandwiches. Top each jar with half of each of the herbs, spices, garlic, and bay leaves! (Curious as to what thin pickles can look like? Check out my radish pickles!)
3 Using a canning funnel if you have one, pour the boiling brine over the cucumbers to submerge the veggies. Put the lids on and pop into the fridge!
4 These pickles will taste pickled in about 30 minutes, but the longer they stay in the brine the more ‘pickle-y’ they will taste! The peak flavor happens around the 24 hour mark!
Enjoy!
I love a good pickle, and while I’d normally be cooking will all fresh ingredients, these taste amazing as well! I can’t wait to start pickling what comes out of my garden this summer and fall as well- there should be SO much dill! I would love to know what you are cooking up in your house during our communal quarantines! Pop over to Instagram and let me know- also have any requests? Direct Message me!
