Due to the popularity of our pickled beets and pickled egg post, I thought I would share with you another quick and simple pickling recipe that has been handed down for generations. This one comes from my husband’s side of the family. It is a very quick and simple refrigerator pickle known as bread and butter pickles! These sliced sweet pickles are a very popular recipe in his family and frequently shows up gracing the table at almost every get-together and occasion in the summer and well into fall. It complements every style of meal, from a roast served with mashed potatoes to venison-beef burgers piled high with these flavorful crisp slices, and even comes in handy as a healthy snack for the little and not-so-little kids to nibble. Whatever the occasion, these refrigerator pickles are sure to please even the most critical sweet pickle connoisseur, offering a delicious and intense flavor-packed crunch to any meal!

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This easy to make recipe for refrigerator bread and butter pickles can be made in a flash! With almost no prep work, they come together amazingly fast. The hardest part is just simply waiting for them to pickle in the fridge for a few days!

This recipe can be traced back on my husband’s side to the time before refrigeration, and looking at the brine I suspect that at one time it was a fermented/preserved pickle recipe. But like many things handed down for generations each cook adds her touch to the recipe and little adaptions occur along the way. Unfortunately, more often than not, little bits of absolutely essential information get lost as the recipe changed formats from a barrel-aged pickle to a refrigerator pickle, making reversing the process a painstaking effort for anyone not well-versed in the science underlying the old-style fermenting process. So unless you have considerable knowledge and experience in this area of preservation, enjoy the robust flavor and keep these bread and butter pickles in the refrigerator! Anything else is clearly an experiment done at YOUR OWN RISK.

For those wondering, I have tried processing these bread and pickles in a water bath canner. The results were not terrible and many family members did like them, but I personally found the strength and intensity of this brine to be too overpowering for long term storage. Moreover the pickles did not hold their crunch, as I would have liked, even when trying various processing times. Consequently, to obtain the crisp texture and robust sweet flavor for which these bread and butter are known, the refrigerator method is definitely preferred.

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This recipe does use a lot of sugar at first glance, but remember you are not drinking the brine, nor are the pickles meant to be eaten like the main course for a meal. 😉 (Although, I do know a few family members that seem to think otherwise!) I have yet to try this with other alternative sweeteners or with a lower sugar content, partly because why pick an unneeded fight with my husband’s whole clan by messing with a nearly-perfect recipe? Maintaining healthy relationships with in-laws is hard enough without starting World War 3 over the type of sweetener used in a pickle recipe! 😉 Although, due to the price and availability of standard sugar over a 100 years ago, I strongly suspect that either locally produced maple sugar or another sweetener was used or that the quantity of sugar was considerably less. 🙂 Since maple sugar is commonly reported to be up to 3 times sweeter than sugar made from sugar beets, both speculations may be true. But then this assumption is based on the current recipe for refrigerator pickles, where the sugar primarily serves as an ingredient of taste. But in original form, sugar was one of the items used to inhibit the spread of unwanted micro-organisms and the correct ratio of sugar to cucumbers would be highly important to the success of the batch. But enough theorizing, time to get on to the recipe!

This easy brine recipe makes roughly 2-3 quarts depending how tightly you pack your jars or other space-saving containers. I have used both glass and plastic containers with this recipe and received satisfactory results with both.

Ingredients:

Pickles or cucumbers of your choice
Onions

Brine:
4 cups distilled white vinegar
4 cups sugar (white or raw sugar)
1/2 cup kosher or canning salt
1 1/3 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/3 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/3 teaspoon mustard seed

Million Dollar Variation:

There has been a pickle recipe of similar nature passed down on my side of the family as well, but we commonly called it Million Dollar Pickles. The taste and brine is similar with the main difference being the addition of pickling spice (about a tab.) that’s heavy on the cinnamon and cloves as well as chopped up bell peppers.

Directions:

The directions for these delicious bread and butter pickle chips are incredibly quick and simple!

Start by washing and slicing your chosen pickles or cucumbers. Any pickle you have an abundance of will suffice! They do not have to be picture perfect, or even all the same size, shape or type. Unlike making dill pickle spears, misshaped pickles and odd-ducks work the same as pristine cylinder-shaped ones in this recipe. I have used a mix of everything from burpless pickles, standard cucumbers and pickles, and even a few old Asian varieties that my father grows and enjoys.

Pictured here are two of our favorite family varieties, Delikatesse and Suyo Long Cucumbers. Both of these non-GMO heirloom varieties have hands down out produced anything we have planted of the newer and more commonly found greenhouse varieties. Both varieties can get quite large in size while staying tender and tend to not develop that overripe “lemon like” flavor.

Next, it’s on to the onions. Any type of onion can be used, but I found that yellow onions work best. The combination of turmeric and red/purple onions is rather unpredictable, sometimes the visual aesthetic turned out stunning and other times this duality produced what is best described as a visual mess. (This was especially true with longer pickling times.) You can slice the onions or make rings; both work fine. I actually prefer a mix, as the rings work well on sandwiches while the slices are great for snacking or garnishing. I find having them both on hand to be very convenient. For a couple cool science tips on cutting onions in a tear-free manner, check out our post on fried onion rings.

After you have both your pickles and onions prepped, carefully layer them alternating back and forth between the pickles and onions as you fill your container. The ratio of pickles to onions can vary based on your preference. Anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 or even 2/3’s pickles is possible, whatever you prefer. I tend to do the half pickles and half onions variation most often.

If keeping them from disappearing too quickly is your biggest worry, any sealable vessel, recycled jar, or Tupperware-style container will do, otherwise for longest refrigerator shelf-life use a canning or mason jar with a new lid and ring. Remember to make sure whatever you choose to use is clean, freshly washed and free from contaminants.

Next, just combine the vinegar, sugar, and spices in a medium sized pan and heat until sugar is dissolved.

At this point, let the brine cool and pour it over your prepped pickles and onions. Remember you never want to pour hot brine into a plastic container. If you are wanting to extend your bounty into the holiday season, as my mother-in-law sometimes does, use a canning jar with a new lid and ring. Pour the hot brine (normally just under boiling) over the layered pickle mixture and add lid and ring. She still stores these pickles in the refrigerator, but the seal created allows them to keep unopened for several months—provided they are well hidden in the back of the refrigerator where my father-in-law doesn’t find them! 😉

Once your jars are at room temp or close to it, place in the refrigerator and let them marinate in the brine for 3-5 days before enjoying. Naturally, a little early taste testing as the process proceeds can be done in the name of education and the promotion of expanded cooking experiences, but these bread and butter pickles will not reach their full flavor and maximum tastiness unless given the proper brining time.

(This is where I was planning on putting a picture of the pickles after they had time to sit in the brine for a few days, but upon going to retrieve the jar in the fridge I discovered my husband and kids had already beat me to it! These pickles are just that good!) 🙂

Whether you have a flourishing garden and are looking for a new way to preserve those extra pickles, or simply wanting to expand your cooking repertoire, this family classic is sure to please! Made as a refreshing taste of summer to share with friends and neighbors, an addition to that classic outdoor meal, or just as a satisfying late night snack the potential applications for this sweet and crisp pickle recipe abound. Happy pickling!

Enjoying the garden’s summer bounty, the Homesteading Hen

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