I am a pickling and canning novice but when I found small cucumbers for sale in our local supermarket, I remembered the 'bread and butter pickles' we used to buy when we lived in Canada. These are sweet, crunchy and full of flavour - the perfect pickle for a cheddar cheese sandwich, as an aside to cold meats and of course with a beefburger.
So I decided to see what I could do and this is what I came up with ...
You will need -
500g small cucumbers
half an onion (or 1 shallot), very thinly sliced
25g fine salt
225g light brown sugar
250ml cider vinegar
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
If you don't have any fennel seeds, you can use 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds.
First of all, slice the cucumbers into thin slices (about 3mm thick) and put into a large bowl with the onion slices. Add the salt, mix together and cover. Put them into the fridge for a couple of hours minimum. This helps to get the water out of the cucumber, ensuring they stay crisp. When the time is up, drain them into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Next put the sugar, spices and vinegar into a saucepan and heat slowly, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sliced cucumbers and onion. Leave to cool slightly before pouring into your sterilised jars. When cooled, label and keep for up to a year (although they can be eaten straight away!).
This amount will make 2 large or 3-4 small jars.
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