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Lemon Cucumber Pickles (quick-pickle method) | recipe via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

These lemon cucumber pickles are ready with just 20 minutes of hands-on time. Crisp lemon cucumbers are pickled in a simple brine flavored with garlic, fresh dill, mustard seeds, pink peppercorns, and cloves. Made with the quick-pickle method, these tangy pickles are ready for enjoying right away though they taste best after 24 hours.

Thanks to some lovely farmers at my local farmers market, I was introduced to these beautiful lemon cucumbers! While they don’t have a lemon flavor, they get their name from the fact they they are round, roughly the size of a lemon, and have yellow skin. Since pickles are one of my absolute favorite snacks throughout the warmer months, I knew I needed to whip up a batch of quick pickles. These lemon cucumber pickles come together with just 20 minutes of hands-on time and can be eaten right away, though I HIGHLY recommend letting them pickle in the fridge for at least 24 hours first. The combination of fresh dill, garlic, and the whole spices gives them a complex flavor that is way better than a standard dill pickle!

Pickle Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you need to make these quick pickles: lemon cucumbers, water, white vinegar, kosher salt, sugar, garlic cloves, fresh dill, whole mustard seed, peppercorns, and whole cloves. While lemon cucumbers make great pickles, they aren’t necessarily easy to find unless you grow them or find them at a farmers market. Any pickling cucumber variety or crisp slicing variety can be used in their place! Simply substitute an equal amount by weight. I’ve tried this recipe with both distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Both work, but I find that I prefer the flavor of the white vinegar.

Making Lemon Cucumber Pickles with the Quick-Pickle Method

These cucumbers are made with the quick-pickle or refrigerator pickle method because they aren’t canned for shelf stability. With this method, you’re pickling the cucumbers in a simple brine made with salt, a little sugar, and equal parts water and distilled white vinegar. The brine is brought to a simmer, then poured over the sliced cucumbers. The cucumbers will pickle for an hour before being divided into jars. At that point, they can go into the refrigerator and will last up to a month.

Enjoying Your Pickles

These pickles are tangy and crisp with only the slightest bit of sweetness. I’ve mostly been eating them straight out of the jar, but the options are limitless! Here are some suggestions for enjoying your lemon cucumber pickles:

atop a veggie burger or sandwich
chopped up and added to salads
as part of a vegetarian charcuterie spread alongside olives, fruit, crackers, and your favorite cheese
minced and added to dips or your favorite homemade ranch

Lemon Cucumber Pickles (quick-pickle method)

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Yield: 2 pints 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

These lemon cucumber pickles are ready with just 20 minutes of hands-on time! Crisp lemon cucumbers are pickled in a simple brine flavored with garlic, fresh dill, mustard seeds, pink peppercorns, and cloves. Made with the quick-pickle method, these tangy pickles are ready for enjoying right away though they taste best after 24 hours.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 1/2 pounds lemon cucumbers
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 tablespoon whole mustard seeds
1/2 tablespoon whole pink peppercorns, or black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
4 sprigs fresh dill
2 clean pint jars

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Instructions

Prep the cucumbers: scrub the outside skin well and then cut off the ends of the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers into 1/4-inch thick rounds and set aside in a large heat proof bowl.

Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, and spices in a sauce pan. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool at least 15 minutes. Once the mixture has cooled a bit, pour it over your cucumbers and let them sit for 1 hour, covered.

Prep the jars: make sure your 2 pint jars (or 1 quart jar) are clean. Place 2 sprigs of dill in the bottom of each jar. Divide the pickles and pickling liquid evenly between the 2 jars then put them in the fridge. Leave the pickles in the fridge for at least 24 hours before eating to allow them to absorb the flavors of the dill and spices. They will keep in the fridge about a month.

Notes

I developed this recipe as a “quick pickle” so it sets up in your fridge and keeps there for about a month. I have not tested it for being shelf stable for canning.
If you do not have lemon cucumbers, regular slicing or pickling cucumbers will work just fine. Use 1 1/2 pounds of your favorite variety.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: canning

I’ve noticed lately that my body has started to crave different things from season to season. It’s not that I didn’t realize it before, but rather it has become more defined and present when choosing what to eat. I’ve also noticed that these cravings are attuned to what plants and vegetables happen to be in season at the time. There’s no better time to crave raw foods than in summer when farmer’s markets are bulging with beautiful, ripe tomatoes, stone fruits, and berries galore. I could probably eat a bowl full of blueberries and cherries for dinner right now and be perfectly content.

Unfortunately, these cravings mean I’m a tad apathetic towards baking which is totally uncharacteristic of me. It mainly stems from the fact that turning on my oven means suffering a 20 degree increase in the temperature in my apartment. That being said, you won’t see too many baked goods here over the next month or two. But, I’ll still be sharing lovely recipes that don’t require much cooking, if any at all. So, that’s a plus, right?

I made this “pudding” to satisfy a craving I had for something sweet and cold. You pretty much mix everything up and let it chill in the fridge for a while. Easy, right? The end result is a sweet and tart pudding that gets it’s thick consistency from lovely protein-packed chia seeds. I topped mine with a bit of fresh diced strawberries, but cashew cream would be amazing as well.

Hibiscus Strawberry Chia Pudding

notes: This recipe takes a bit of planning because it has to sit for several hours or overnight before eating. Makes about 4 servings.

1/2 lb strawberries (or cherries if you can’t find strawberries), cleaned de-hulled
1 tbsp dried hibiscus flowers or 2 hibiscus tea bags
juice of 1/2 a lime
scant cup of water
1 to 2 tbsp agave, depending on the sweetness of your berries
6+ tbsp whole chia seeds

Boil the water and then pour it over your hibiscus. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain out the hibiscus (or tea bags) and pour the tea you have made into a blender. Add the strawberries , lime juice, and agave to the blender also, then blend until the mixture is smooth. You should have roughly 2 cups of liquid. Pour the liquid into a bowl, then measure out 3 tbsp of chia seeds for every 1 cup of liquid you have. If you got 2 cups, then add 6 tbsp chia seeds. Stir the chia seeds into the liquid to evenly distribute them, then cover the bowl and park it in the fridge for several hours or overnight to thicken. Once the pudding has thickened, enjoy it chilled topped with fresh diced strawberries or cashew cream.