Cucumber slices boiled briefly in vinegar, sugar and mustard seeds, then kept in their own syrup. Twelve minutes of work and they are ready as soon as they are cold.
These are refrigerator pickles
Worth being clear about, because the word pickle covers two very different things.
Preserved pickles are sterilised, sealed in vacuum jars and sit in a cupboard for a year. Refrigerator pickles, which is what these are, skip all of that: they go into a container in the fridge and keep about three weeks.
Neither approach is better, and this one takes twelve minutes instead of an afternoon. It just means the jar lives in the fridge and gets eaten.
Five minutes and no longer
The cucumbers go into boiling liquid for about five minutes. Past that they go from crisp to limp, and there is no recovering it.
Slicing them thin helps in both directions: thin slices take on the flavour faster and need less time in the pot.
The vinegar changes the result
- White vinegar gives a sharper, cleaner pickle where the sourness is the main event.
- Apple cider vinegar is softer and slightly fruity, and rounds off against the half cup of sugar.
The recipe offers both because both are correct. Cider vinegar is the more forgiving of the two if you are unsure.
Mustard seeds, whole
Whole seeds, not powdered mustard. They release their flavour slowly into the liquid over the days the jar sits in the fridge, and they stay visible in the jar, which is part of the point.
Powdered mustard would cloud the syrup and give a much sharper, more immediate heat.
What they go with
Alongside grilled meat, in a sandwich, or chopped into a salad. In Colombia this kind of quick pickle turns up next to carne asada and on hamburgers.
More things kept in jars
- Ají — the table sauce, also fridge-kept.
- Guava jam — the sweet preserve.
- Tomato sauce — freezes better than it keeps.
- Barbecue sauce — two weeks in the fridge.
Pickled Cucumbers FAQ
About three weeks in the fridge in a sealed container. They are refrigerator pickles, not preserves: there is no sterilising or vacuum sealing, so they do not live in a cupboard.
Because cucumber goes from crisp to limp very quickly in hot liquid. Five minutes is enough to take on the flavour and keep some bite. Slicing them thin lets you stay at the shorter end.
White gives a sharper, cleaner pickle; cider vinegar is softer and slightly fruity and rounds off against the sugar. Both work, and cider is the more forgiving if you are unsure.
It will taste quite different. Whole seeds release flavour slowly into the syrup over days and stay visible in the jar. Powder clouds the liquid and gives a sharper, more immediate heat.
As soon as they have cooled, though they improve over a day or two as the flavour penetrates. Thin slices are ready sooner than thick ones.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers, sliced (thin slices take the pickle faster)
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup white or apple cider vinegar (cider vinegar is softer, white is sharper)
- ½ liter water
- ½ tablespoon mustard seeds (whole seeds, not powdered mustard)
- A pinch of salt
Notas
Instructions
- Put the water, sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds and a pinch of salt in a pot and bring it to the boil.
- Once it comes to the boil, add the sliced cucumbers and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Once it has cooled, transfer the cucumbers along with their syrup into a container with a lid and keep them in the fridge.
- Serve them whenever you like, with a main dish or in a salad.
Comments
No Comments