Stay Cool as a Cucumber!

It’s cucumber season and what a perfect vegetable for a hot day! A cool cucumber is 95% water, low in calories, and high in taste. Are you in a pickle and you don’t know how to prepare your cucumbers? Try this recipe to learn how to pickle cucumbers. No canning required!

Making pickles from cucumbers sounds like it would be a long process, but it doesn’t have to be! Refrigerator pickles are an easy method of pickling cucumbers. Especially if you have a large crop of cucumbers to use up!

They have all the taste, and none of the work of canning. It’s the best of both worlds!

Looking for more ways to pickle cucumbers? Try our 24-Hour Bread & Butter Pickle recipe. They follow the same method of pickling cucumbers, but with a sweeter twist!

Refrigerated Dill Pickles Recipe

Ingredients that you’ll need:

  • 1/2 C. distilled white vinegar
  • 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 C. pickling salt
  • 3 to 4 medium cucumbers
  • 4 to 5 sprigs fresh dill, divided
  • 1 T. pickling spice
  • 3 cloves garlic, halved

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 5 1/2 cups water, both types of vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring several times; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Refrigerated Dill Spears.Still007

Wash cucumbers and slice in half crosswise. Use the Rada Super Parer to make this process a breeze. Cut pieces in half lengthwise and then cut into spears (approximately 12 spears from each cucumber, depending on the size of the cucumber).

Refrigerated Dill Spears.Still008

Place half of dill springs in a clean plastic 5-quart ice cream pail or large jar. Add the cucumber spears, pickling spice, and remaining dill sprigs.

Refrigerated Dill Spears.Still011

Slice the garlic cloves in half and add to pail.

Refrigerated Dill Spears.Still014

Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over cucumbers. Set a plate on top and press down lightly to submerge cucumbers in liquid. This ensures that each cucumber will soak in the brine and turn into a delicious pickle!

Refrigerated Dill Spears.Still016

Cover and let the pickles sit at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring once or twice. Place the pail the the refrigerator to store pickles for up to 1 month.

Note: this brine can also be used to soak whole baby cucumbers. Recipe may be doubled to fill the pail.

Refrigerated Dill Pickles

Making pickles from cucumbers sounds like it would be a long process, but it doesn’t have to be! Refrigerator pickles are an easy method of pickling cucumbers. Especially if you have a large crop of cucumbers to use up! They have all the taste, and none of the work of canning. It’s the best of both worlds!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C. distilled white vinegar
  • 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 C. pickling salt
  • 3 to 4 medium cucumbers
  • 4 to 5 sprigs fresh dill divided
  • 1 T. pickling spice
  • 3 cloves garlic halved

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 5 1/2 cups water, both types of vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring several times; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Wash cucumbers and slice in half crosswise. Cut pieces in half lengthwise and then cut into spears (approximately 12 spears from each cucumber, depending on the size of the cucumber).
  • Place half of dill springs in a clean plastic 5-quart ice cream pail or large jar. Add the cucumber spears, pickling spice, and remaining dill sprigs.
  • Slice the garlic cloves in half and add to pail.
  • Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over cucumbers. Set a plate on top and press down lightly to submerge cucumbers in liquid. This ensures that each cucumber will soak in the brine and turn into a delicious pickle!
  • Cover and let the pickles sit at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring once or twice. Place the pail the the refrigerator to store pickles for up to 1 month.

Notes

Note: this brine can also be used to soak whole baby cucumbers. Recipe may be doubled to fill the pail.

How is Pickling Salt Different than Regular Salt?

Pickling salt is typically more pure than table salt. This means it doesn’t contain any iodine, which may turn pickles dark. It also doesn’t contain any ant-caking ingredients like magnesium silicate and corn starch,  which can make the pickling brine a bit cloudy. Lastly, the grains of pickling salt are typically finer than table salt so that they dissolve easier in the pickling liquid.

While pickling salt is idea, Kosher salt or sea salt can be substituted. Just make sure they don’t contain any anti-caking additives.

Using Cucumbers as a Garnish

cucumber-garnishing

Looking for more unique ways to use cucumbers? Chef Jere demonstrates a quick and easy way to make cucumber garnishes for salads, seafood, and other dishes. He is striping the cucumber using the Rada Deluxe Peeler and slicing the cucumber using the Rada Super Parer.

Cucumber Garnish Video

Add Rada Cutlery to Your Kitchen!

Shop Rada Cutlery
Shop knives, utensils, and quick mixes.

Find Fundraising Success!

Rada Fundraising
Learn more about earning 40% fundraising profit for your group. 

Get in the Rada Business!

Rada Reseller Program
Learn more about selling Rada products!

About Rada Cutlery – A Quick Introduction

Rada Cutlery has been manufacturing 100% American-made knives and kitchen utensils since 1948. Last year, we helped 19,000 church, school, team, and club fundraisers reach their goals with our 40% profit. We’ve also helped hundreds of resellers create their own home business. We pride ourselves on great kitchen products made with superior care and quality at an amazing value.

Also, Rada Cutlery is your key to a successful fundraiser! Each year, tens of thousands of groups partner with Rada to raise money for noble causes. Churches, schools, clubs, sports teams, civic organizations, and more make the money they need with Rada.

Click here or on the catalog photo below to check out our fundraising catalo

Pin it to Pinterest!

Dill Pickles Collage

Refrigerated Dill Spears Recipe Video transcript:

Hi, Kristy at the Rada Kitchen and today I would like to share a recipe out of our cookbook called Freezer Jams and Refrigerator Pickles.

Today I am making Refrigerated Dill Spears. These are easy to make you don’t have to sterilize or do a hot water bath. You just cook the brine and pour it over your cucumbers and put it in the refrigerator. Let’s go to the stove!

So over medium heat, we’re going to combine 5 ½ cups of water into a large saucepan. Add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar, ½ cup of apple cider vinegar and then ¼ cup of pickling salt. Stir those together and bring it to a boil. Boil it for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

So while the brine is cooling we can go ahead and prepare our cucumbers. The first thing you want to do is cut them in half crosswise and then cut them in half again lengthwise and then you will make spears. So you should get about 12 spears out of 1 cucumber. This Super Parer is an all-around go to knife. Anytime I ask people at the plant here which knife they would use to cut up cucumbers or anything they always say “the Super Parer”, it’s just a great working knife.

Now in a clean, washed ice cream pail, it has to be at least 5 quart; you are going to put half of the dill sprigs. You need about 5 to 6 dill sprigs, so we’ll put a couple on the bottom and then we are going to add our cucumber spears. Next we are going to add a tablespoon of pickling spice and then 3 cloves of garlic that have been cut into halves. Add the sliced garlic to the pail and the rest of the dill sprigs. Now once the brine that you cooked has cooled we will add that to the pail.

The brine as cooled and we will pour that over the cucumbers. To prevent them from lifting up you can put a plate or bowl to weigh down the cucumbers so the liquid covers all of the cucumbers. Cover the pail and let it sit on the counter for 24 hours and then store it in the refrigerator. They will keep in the refrigerator for one month.

That’s just one of the recipes in our Freezer Jams and Refrigerator Pickles recipe book.

End of Video Transcript

Cucumber Garnish Video Transcript:

Today we are using Rada’s Deluxe Peeler and Super Parer. We are going to demonstrate on a couple of cucumbers here some different techniques; slicing the cucumber and making attractive. First thing we are going I am going to do is cut off the ends. We are going to stripe the cucumber; I want to take off this light end here using a peeler. I am just going to do one swipe down.

I like to leave a little bit of the skin on the cucumber it just is a lot more attractive that way. Then we are going to come again and make another slice, then come around and do another slice. It gives us a stripe appeal and texture to the cucumber. Using the Super Parer I want to split the cucumber down the middle. Slice the cucumber on a diagonal.

This is a great presentation to garnish the top of salads with; you can put slice fresh cucumber on seafood, all kinds of different things. There is a sliced cucumber. Next one I would like to show you; again we are going to stripe the cucumber, three stripes. Notice how easily it peels that cucumber, it is pretty much effortless to do that.

We are going to make some very thin slices; this knife is really good for doing things like this, the thinner the better. Always keep knuckles out, tips of your fingers in.

Rada Mfg. Co. has been manufacturing Rada Cutlery fundraising products and helping non-profit groups fundraise since 1948 — last year working with over 19,000 churches, schools, teams and clubs.

End of Video Transcript