Company Best Pickles
Submitted by fluffycheese
These heirloom sweet pickles are worth the 8-day wait. Crisp cucumber coins bathe in a spiced vinegar-sugar brine for that old-fashioned crunch your grandma swore by.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
7 daysREADY
7 daysThis is the recipe church ladies whisper about at potlucks and cousins beg for at family reunions.
The secret? Time and patience. Over 8 days, whole cucumbers get a daily hot water spa treatment that transforms their texture into something impossibly crisp. Then they soak in a spiced sweet-and-tangy brine that penetrates every cell.
The result is a pickle that snaps when you bite it, flooding your mouth with balanced sweetness and vinegar tang. These aren’t your soggy store-bought chips. They’re the pickles that disappear first at every gathering and get tucked into Christmas gift baskets like edible gold.
One batch makes 12 jars, so you can hoard some for yourself and still have plenty to share (or bribe your way into next year’s cookbook swap).
Pro Tips
- Cucumber size matters: Use medium cucumbers about 6-8 inches long. Giants get hollow centers, and babies don’t have enough flesh for that satisfying crunch.
- Don’t skip the daily draining: Those 4 mornings of boiling water and draining cure the cucumbers, drawing out moisture so they stay crisp instead of turning to mush in the brine.
- Spice it your way: The pickling spice blend typically includes mustard seeds, coriander, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Want more warmth? Add a cinnamon stick or extra cloves to the brine.
- Jar prep is crucial: Sterilize your jars and lids before sealing. Room-temperature pickles going into hot jars can crack the glass, so keep everything hot.
- Storage timeline: These pickles need at least 2 weeks in the jar before opening to let flavors fully develop. They’ll keep unopened for up to a year in a cool, dark pantry.
Ingredients
Directions
Cover whole cucumbers with boiling water.
Allow to stand until next morning.
Drain. Repeat procedure on next 3 mornings. On the 5th day, drain and slice into ½ inch pieces.
Combine sugar, spice, salt and vinegar.
Bring to a boil and pour over cucmbers.
let stand 2 days.
On 3rd day, bring to a boil and seal in hot jars.
Comments
My Company Best Pickles went hollow this year. Any ideas? Thanks.
What about the 4th day?
4th day? day 1 cover like it says , next 3 days do the same days 2-3-4. where is the question
Sometimes they go hollow; it depends on the cucumbers. They still taste great.
On 3rd day,when you bring them to a boil and seal in hot jars,should you keep the cucumbers boiling until the last jar is canned?
Becky in N.Y.
Do you cover after putting boiling water over them?
Yes, the jars need to be covered.
My cucs went soft and spongy after sitting in the hot brine before going into jars ?.
Very disappointing!
I put my pickles in the jars and boiled the brine separately. Then when the brine boiled I poured them over the pickles and placed the jars in the boiling water for 10 minutes to seal them. Feel free to eat them before you can them as they are really good.