How to Pickle Cucumbers and Its Various Flavouring Options?

Cucumber is a widely consumed culinary vegetable which has three main types- pickling, slicing and seedless. Cucumbers contain 95% water and is considered to be an ideal choice for hydrating the body. Depending on its variety, cucumbers might have a normal or mild melon flavour, which is generally a result of unsaturated aldehydes in it. People not only consume cucumbers raw but also in the form of pickles, which enhances its taste from just being almost neutral.

While growing up, most of us have enjoyed pickled cucumbers with lunch or dinner. It is a dinner table essential in most houses, yet we don’t often think how exactly it is made and if we can try to make it at home on our own without any preservatives. Well, if you find yourself curious about learning how to pickle cucumbers, then we got you covered through this article.

As you scroll down, you will find out complete details about pickle cucumbers, such as how to make it, different ways to make it more flavourful and much more. So just keep reading below to check out all the information. 

How to Pickle Cucumbers?

To learn how to make cucumber pickles, let us first find out what ingredients you need to make it. So details of it are as follows-

Ingredients Needed-

2 ¼ cup of cold water2 cups of vinegar, distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar both will work2 ½ tbsp of Kosher salt3 tbsp of peppercorn3 tbsp of coriander seeds3 tbsp of mustard seed2 bay leaves4 green onions, chopped and trimmed (both white and green)4 green cucumbers sliced into ½ inch rounds6 garlic clovesFew sprigs of fresh herb, according to your liking

Directions of How to Pickle Cucumbers-

Firstly prepare the cucumbers- The first step of making cucumber pickles is to get the cucumbers prepared. For this, slice about 1 ¼ pounds of cucumbers in round shape. If your cucumbers do not feel too hard to touch, then you can give them an extra crunch by placing them with some ice cubes in a colander and allow them to sink in it for at least 20 to 30 minutes.  Make the brine of it- To make the brine for cucumbers, firstly combine 3 cups of vinegar, 2 ¼ of water (it is essential to add water as vinegar is tangy in nature and so it’s flavour can be adjusted by adding water in it in a proper ratio), 3 tbsp of whole coriander seeds, mustard seeds, 2 ½ tbsp kosher salt, 2 bay leaves and peppercorn. Bring all these things to a pan, heat them on low heat and simmer for at least 10 to 15 minutes. After it is heated and gets that texture, allow the brine to cool down.  Pack cucumbers along with garlic, onion and jalapenos tightly in a jar- Now, the third step of how to pickle cucumbers is to mix this prepared brine and cucumbers together and pack them in a wide-mouth jar, so that cucumbers get mixed well. You can also add a few sprigs of fresh and natural herbs to garnish it.  Pour it in the cooled brine- This is done to push the cucumbers down so that they are properly submerged in the brine. You can use the back side of the spoon to do this and this will ensure a better taste. Now, seal the jars with a lid and refrigerate it- This is important as it will help give the jar a quick tap to release the extra bubbles of air before you completely close them. Once done, refrigerate the jar for one night before consuming it. You can obviously eat it after a few hours, but for the best taste and flavour, you should keep it overnight and consume it the next day. 

And following all these steps, you will have pickle cucumber ready to enjoy with your everyday meals. 

How to Make Different Flavoured Pickled Cucumbers?

As you learnt above how to pickle cucumbers, you will be happy to know that you can make it more flavourful. So adding a variety of spices to our pickling brine enhances the taste of the pickle and you can actually infuse your cucumbers with a lot of flavours, such as:

Garlic and Onion- If you want to make your pickle a little more flavourful by using some common ingredients, then onion and garlic are the best pick. Chop up some green and white onions and garlic cloves and put them in the jar containing pickled cucumbers. Shake it well so that they get pickled along with the cucumbers to make it more flavourful. Sliced or whole hot peppers- If you are someone who loves to eat spicy food, then add hot peppers in your cucumber pickle for that extra flavour. People generally use jalapenos, either in rings, halves or slices to give it that mixed flavour.  Dried or fresh herbs- Dill is one of the most widely used herbs for flavouring cucumbers. Other than this, you can also add rosemary, oregano and thyme to it.

Conclusion

As cucumber is a widely consumed vegetable and almost every person consumes it on a  daily basis, pickles are also equally popular. While there are different options in the market to buy pickle cucumbers, nothing is still better than making one yourself at home by adding ingredients that you like to eat. And to help you in this, we provided above detailed information on how to pickle cucumbers and make it in different flavours, to suit different tastes and preferences. So just follow the steps as mentioned above and you will have tasty cucumber pickles ready to eat!