Tag: pickles

No Cukes in the Garden, But Making Pickles

Making homemade fermented pickles, but don’t have my own cucumbers to use.

After a while gardeners come to realize where to spend their time so it pays off. Why waste efforts to bring in no food? I feel this way about growing cucumbers.

I’ve planted cukes over and over. I’ve tried growing them early, covering them at night, picking off the worms. And all that might be worth it if I got a nice crop, but that has never happened.

My dill plants are mostly gone by, but a few were still green enough to use the flowers for adding to fermented cucumbers.

Fermenting

I’ve done some fermenting in the past. Cabbage and Daikon radish come to mind. When I had an abundance of green beans I tried twice to ferment those without luck. What I really wanted was cucumbers.

For the most part I shop at Aldi. It is the most affordable, but their produce can be old. Instead of getting the little packs of small cucumbers I chose two of the long, wrapped ones.

making pickles in saltwater brine

I love my Weck jars (Amazon paid link). I use them for everything from storing food, to making sourdough starter, and fermenting. The link goes to Amazon, but I buy my Weck jars from the Weck website. It can be hard to figure out what sizes to buy, so let me tell you which ones I prefer.

Weck Jars

In the photo above I am using the Tulip (paid link) in two sizes. The Tulip jar has a wide opening and all Weck jars come with a glass lid. The smaller jars, and I have a few different types, have smaller openings and also come with glass lids. The Mold jars also work well for fermenting.

I buy my Wecks from the website. They come in packs, such as 6 large Tulips, or combo packs. They are cheaper than Amazon, but there is a shipping charge. I prefer to know that I am actually getting the real Weck jars and with Amazon, there is always a possibility they will not be.

What I do to make my ferments using Weck is this: I use a large jar then put the smaller glass lid down inside to cover the food and keep it submerged. I add the large lid to sit loosely on top.

If you know anything about fermenting, it is that the food must stay submerged in the saltwater brine. If it pops up, mold can form and everything had to be thrown away. This is why everything needs to be packed in tight. Once the food begins to ferment, it bubbles and everything wants to float. The smaller glass lid keeps that from happening. The cover lid is not tight – it is just sitting on top, so any overflow from the bubbling can easily escape. This is why my pickle jars are sitting in bowls.

If you want to try this yourself, just ask – these days Chatgpt and AI knows everything. For my two jars I used 1 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt mixed into 4 cups of water. I only used about half to cover both filled jars.

This is day four for my pickles and I plan to try one soon. They can stay out on the shelf for weeks, but the taste will change. A warmer climate speeds up the ferment. The longer they stay out on the shelf, the softer they get, supposedly.

I also have a pH food meter to test my ferments, just to be on the safe side.

Although I would love for these pickles to be made from fresh backyard cucumbers, I have to make do. It is impossible to grow cucumbers in this climate, but I can grow dill. I added some whole, dill flowers to each of the jars for flavor.

I have not made this type of pickle before, but fermenting adds good bacteria to food. It is a bit like eating yogurt for the healthy gut bacteria, but in yummy pickle form. If I love these pickles, I plan to make more, but my dill will be gone. I have saved some dill seeds, which might work too.

Dill flower and dried seeds
Saving dill
Dill seeds drying on the plant
Dill seeds

Are you growing cucumbers this year? Will you make fermented pickles?

More gardening stories from my Florida yard.

Ways to Use That Overload of Cucumbers From the Garden

It is mid-June as I write this and I am beginning to get an overload of cucumbers from the garden. I am the only one in the household who eats them. Since I hate to be wasteful, I’ve begun using my cucumbers in places other than salads.

Please note: Not all food here is Keto friendly.  I wrote this page before I changed my diet.

Cucumbers in Smoothies

A few years back I bought an Oster personal blender. Because of my diagnosis of poly-cystic kidney disease, I began to create healthy smoothies full of fruit and vegetables.

This morning I picked 2 more cucumbers from the garden to add to the collection of 5 I had already sitting on my kitchen counter. Cucumbers can be very good for for patients with CKD (chronic kidney disease) and of course, for everyone else as well.

I chopped one whole cucumber for my smoothie. To that I added five frozen, organic strawberries, organic red grapes, and some unsweetened cranberry juice. Once I remembered that I had bananas to use, I added a small banana too.

Cucumber smoothie
Cucumber smoothie with fruit

For those with any type of kidney problem who have to watch their potassium levels, don’t add the banana.

Of course this is my made-up-on-the-spur-of-the-moment recipe, so change it up. Adding other greens along with the cuke would also work. Throw in some kale or spinach. That goes well with strawberries. Use orange juice or iced tea for the liquid. There are many options when it comes to creating a healthy smoothie.

Screen Shot 2018-06-23 at 11.04.34 AM
Ready to drink from my House Targaryen GOT glass

Easier still, add sliced cucumber to a glass of water. Throw in sliced apple, orange, lemon or lime if you have it. Most people should drink a lot of water every day and this may help you do so.

Cucumber Sandwiches

Although I try hard not to eat much bread, I love a cucumber sandwich. When slicing the cukes for a sandwich I leave the skin on. I only remove skin from store-bought cukes.

Add mayonnaise and a little pepper and yum… the perfect summer sandwich.

cucumber sandwiches
Crustless white bread cucumber sandwiches (photo: Pixabay)

Or choose a more healthy type “bread” by spreading hummus on a (gluten free, low sodium) tortilla and fill with chopped cucumber and other veggies. Roll it up and you have a tasty meal without the bread.

Cucumbers and Hummus Dip

Cucumbers are quite delicious all by themselves, but it’s more fun to dip them into a healthy dip. I love cukes and hummus. Again, if you have no health issues, eat what sounds good. Chic peas are the main ingredient in hummus and most brands offer additional varieties along with plain old hummus.

Hummus is a wonderful and healthy dip that goes with any vegetable. It provides fiber and protein and other nutrients.

bowl of hummus
Hummus

More Ideas For Using Fresh Garden Cucumbers

I can get tired of eating salad pretty quickly, but the trick is to change it up. Use a small amount of greens and add lots of cucumber, tomato, sliced onion and green pepper. I like to add walnuts and fruit to my salads too.

For a simple cucumber only salad, check out this recipe at Taste of Home.

I have a no-cook recipe link for making sweet bread and butter pickles.  Be aware that these pickles last only a couple of weeks before the slices get soggy.  Eat them quickly or they will have to be thrown away.  Still, it’s a good and easy recipe for an abundance of cukes.  Maybe give some away?

Also, cucumber slices can be used to play checkers. (Smile)

Simple Bread and Butter Pickles Made From Garden Cucumbers

Cucumber on the vine
Cucumber on the vine

Now that the cucumbers are growing in my Florida garden, I was reminded of a simple bread and butter pickles recipe I found a few years ago. No canning was involved. Fortunately I was able to find my printed copy.  (Recipe Link Below)

I don’t do canning, but I love bread and butter pickles made with fresh from the garden cucumbers. These pickles are stored in mason jars (or any jar) but there is no boiling required. Slice and mix the six ingredients (and add some of your own) and store in the fridge.

Include sliced onion and green pepper for flavor. Garlic cloves and hot pepper slices may work as well. Other herbs could be added to change the flavor, like fennel and dill.

And by the way, you don’t need to use a specific type of cucumber.  I am growing two types, and I can’t remember what they are, but as you can see in my photo below, one type is very long!

The shorter, regular looking cukes taste better, but when making pickles it doesn’t matter.  There are many other ways to use fresh cucumbers from the garden.

Cucumbers and onion

The recipe calls for 7 cups of sliced cucumbers, so wait until you have a bunch to use up. Cukes don’t last long once they are picked, so plan to make pickles the day you pick the cucumbers.
A mandolin slicer makes all that slicing go fast.

A Mandoline slicer makes all this slicing quick work

Note:  One thing I changed in the recipe was the amount of sugar. The recipe calls for 2 cups, and I reduced that amount to 1 cup.  I also added a few slices of hot red pepper and fennel sprigs.

Spoon the mix into clean mason jars. Divide up the remaining liquid into the jars, cover and put in fridge for 5 days. Then begin eating!  They will be good for months.

mason jars
Clean mason jars

The full recipe can be found here: Mamaw’s Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles.