A simple to make delicious recipe for quick pickled cucumbers, with mint and turmeric.
I love cucumbers, they are so versatile, crisp and refreshing. Next week I have all my children home, and other family visiting too, so I have made some quick refrigerator pickles to go with the barbecue we are having to celebrate my daughter’s 27th birthday (how did that happen?) The pickles last for up to a month in the fridge, but these will be munched much sooner than that.
There’s a recipe on my blog for quick mojito pickles, if you want to make something even faster than this recipe.
The recipe itself is flexible, you can tweak it at will, adding your own preferred herbs or different vegetables, such as thinly sliced courgettes, white turnips or radish.
I used two and a half cucumbers because that’s what I had, and this made two 750 ml jars of pickles (25 fl oz/ approx 3 US cups). The cucumbers were large, approximately 30cm/12″ long, and I have written the recipe so that it is easy to multiply according to how many cucumbers you want to pickle. So two small cucumbers = 1 large.
You will need:
cucumbers (peeled if the skin is thick, otherwise you can leave it on)
onions
fresh mint
ground turmeric powder (optional, but it adds colour, flavour and herbal properties)
cider vinegar (or another light vinegar: white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar if you’re feeling frivolous!)
sea salt
a bowl
glass jars with non reactive lids (glass lids are good) – cleaned thoroughly
Thinly slice the cucumbers and place in the bowl.
Thinly slice half a medium sized onion per cucumber (or more if you like things onion-y)
Add to the bowl and sprinkle the vegetables with 1 tsp ground sea salt per cucumber. Stir and cover with a plate.
Leave for 6-24 hours.
Drain in a colander for 20 minutes, then return to the bowl.
Finely chop the mint, approx 1 tsp chopped mint per cucumber.
Pour 235ml/1 cup vinegar into a jug. Add the mint and 1/2 tsp turmeric per cucumber. Mix together and pour over the cucumber and onions.
Mix together carefully, then pack the veg into the prepared jar/s.
Divide the vinegar remaining in the bowl between the jars (or pour into the jar if there is just the one).
Top up with more vinegar so that the vegetables are submerged.
Place a pickling weight on top to keep the veg under the liquid (use a clean glass lid or a clean flat stone if you don’t have pickling weights.
Replace the lid and place in the fridge for 24 hours to infuse.
The pickles keep in the fridge for up to a month. This is a refrigerator pickle and has not been processed for storing long term.
After eating, the vinegar can be used to make salad dressings. Happy munching!
Sounds delicious and I am definitely going to try this.
I have some green peppercorn I need to use so might throw a few of those in as well!!!
Love this recipe Stephanie
Hazel xxxx
Thank you Hazel!
You have to be careful with cucumbers, for there’s a thing going around where some are bitter. If they’re all bunched together 🥒🥒🥒 and one is bitter, then that’s that then. Some suggest getting a thin slice to taste, just in case.
Bitter cucumbers are usually a sign of plant stress, rather than needing to get rid of the whole plant. It has always been a potential issue with cucumbers, rather than a new thing.
The problem of toxic bitter cucurbits is usually found with squash or courgettes.
You’re right, I was thinking of the courgette thing that has marred me into seeing all the green lovelies 🥒 in a different light.
As Ken Dodd would say:
What a beautiful day! What a beautiful day for sticking a cucumber through someone’s letter box and shouting: ‘Help, help, the Martians have landed.’ 👽
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-53402497
Thank you for the pickled cucumber recipe and your usual newsy information Stephanie,
Myra (from New Zealand)
Thanks Myra!
Great recipe. Been staring at the cucumbers! And I have all the ingredients to hand…
I’ve been enjoying them with almost everything! Very pickle-y, but that’s how I like it
waiting patiently for the 24 hours resting period and also highly excited as I have ordered pickling weights…