I have been making these Easy Bread and Butter Pickles for years. They are so easy to make because they are not canned technically. And they are ready to eat after only a few days!
You just pour the boiling vinegar mixture over the cucumber slices, seal and store in the fridge.
And now - I have tested a diabetic-friendly version! I used Monkfruit sugar, which has no effect on blood sugar instead of regular sugar. See the recipe card for substitution quantities. I also made the diabetic version slightly less sweet tasting since our taste for sweetness seems to have reduced somewhat.
Now that you can buy those baby cucumbers in stores year-round I even make these in the middle of winter if we have run out. You can also make them with English cucumbers.
You store them in the fridge and they are ready when they change colour. I have opened and eaten them after one week and they were excellent -- crunchy and sweet!
You will need to sterilize the jars you are going to use. I have all kinds of mason jars but in a pinch you could re-use commercial pickle jars or spaghetti sauce jars. Just sterilize them before you re-use them.
To sterilize them I put a roasting pan on my stove top. I put about 3-4 " of water in the bottom of the pan, turn the jars upside down and bring the water to a boil. Let them simmer for 15 minutes. Sometimes the jars will suck the water up inside them. If that happens just tilt the jar to let the water release back into the bath. Put the lids in to simmer for the last 5 minutes. Tongs work best for removing the jars and lids from the bath.
This recipe makes about 4 half-liter jars. I wouldn't double it because they are so easy to make you can just make more when they run out. I love these pickles on sandwiches or burgers, chopped in deviled eggs or on the side of anything. You can save the juice when the pickles are done and use it to jazz up salad dressings for potato salad, cauliflower salad etc.
If you like these you might also like my Easy Dill Pickles!
Enjoy!
Easy Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
PIckle
- 6 cups unpeeled cucumber slices (I use the thin slice setting on my mandolin)
- 1 medium sweet onion thinly sliced and quartered
Brine
- 3 cups white sugar see June 2024 Update for diabetic friendly substitute.
- 2 cups white vinegar 5% solution
- ¼ cup coarse pickling salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
Instructions
- Sterilize canning jars by inverting in a 3 " water bath and simmering on the stove for 15 minutes. Simmer snap and ring lids 3-5 minutes.
- Clean and slice cucumbers and onion.
- Mix all brine ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Pour hot brine over cucumber & onion slices in a bowl. Stir and let them cool.
- Spoon pickle mixture into sterilized jars leaving ½ - 1" of head space. Position the snap lid and dry the top. Dry the ring and twist on until finger tight.
- Let cool and store in the fridge. They are ready to eat when the cucumber goes translucent and changes colour. They can be ready to injoy in a just a few days! And - they will keep in the fridge several months.
Leave a Reply