At the party, Dede (aka wvhomecanner) provided a pickle-making demonstration. Traditional pickle recipes must be placed in a brine for days if not weeks. This recipe for refrigerator pickles is what Dede calls instant picklefication.
If you missed the party, you don’t have to miss the pickles! (There are still good cucumbers out there at farmers markets–we picked these up right before the party for the demonstration.)
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How to make Refrigerator Pickles:
7 cups unpeeled sliced cucumbers
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup sliced onions
Brine
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
Pickle Crisp (optional, use per package directions)
Do not heat the brine. Mix together sugar and vinegar until sugar is dissolved, then add celery seed, salt and Pickle Crisp (if using); pour over cuke mix. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container or in quart jars. They’re best after 24 hours, but you can eat them right away.
If you don’t know what Pickle Crisp is….
Pickle Crisp adds the crunch to pickles without the long pre-soak. It comes in granulated form and the label says to add 1/4 teaspoon per quart. (So a small jar goes a long way.)
These refrigerator pickles are sweet and crunchy and delicious.
And I got to keep two jars!
You can find Dede’s recipe on Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box: Refrigerator Pickles.
Also check out Dede’s Instant Picklefication post on the Farm Bell Recipes blog, where she shares another fast pickle recipe for Claussen-Style refrigerator pickles.
Leah says:
Yum! Want to make those pickles. Which kind of vinegar is used in this recipe?
On October 6, 2010 at 1:13 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
white vinegar! I’ll go add that to the recipe, Leah! Thanks!
On October 6, 2010 at 6:35 am
Lisa says:
I can’t wait to try this. It sounds delicious and I love pickles.
On October 6, 2010 at 1:17 am
Barbee' says:
I did not know Pickle Crisp existed. Surely speeds things up. Learned something here today. Thank you!
On October 6, 2010 at 6:38 am
wvhomecanner says:
Barbee’, the Pickle Crisp is not necessary for these pickles – it does keep them crisp longer and maybe a bit more crisp in the beginning, but it can be skipped with no problem if you don’t have any on hand.
The beauty of Pickle Crisp (calcium chloride) is that it’s a firming agent and gives us that ‘snap’ of crispness that is often missing in home canned pickles. It also works great for firming tomato pieces in a canned product (i.e. home canned “Rotel”).
Dede
On October 6, 2010 at 7:01 am
Miss Becky says:
not only do they look delicious, they’re lovely to look at too :yes:
On October 6, 2010 at 8:13 am
m says:
I made two of the refridgerator pickle recipes this summer … I used Apple Cider Vinegar and celery seed (with other spices I had on hand) for some Bread & Butter based on some recipes I found in a link to the Farm Bell recipes (probably Dede’s ). (A dill recipe also works great for my Dad who doesn’t need a lot of sugar)
You can leave out the bell peppers, I did (they are a trigger for my reflux in most forms – raw/pickled/cooked).
Some of the other spices I used for the different recipes (Pickling spice, whole All Spice, ground all spice, Tumeric, Mustard seed, minced garlic, pepper corns). I didn’t use them all in the same recipes, but it was time to start clearing some shelves.
Thanks for posting these, both my parents loved the fresh pickles made from our own cucumbers , and the no-processing was a bonus too! 😀
m
On October 6, 2010 at 8:21 am
texwisgirl says:
I think my mom made these one time! Thanks for the memory!!! :hug:
On October 6, 2010 at 8:54 am
Angela says:
Hey Suzanne!
Thanks for posting the recipe for the pickles! I was going to look for that today and now I don’t have to look! I did find the Pickle Crisp at Lowe’s where they have a canning display set up. Now I need to find some cucumbers!
I did another post on the party about the yummy food that was there. https://wvtreasures.blogspot.com/2010/10/citrp-food.html
Angela :wave:
On October 6, 2010 at 9:18 am
PJ says:
Where do you find “Pickle Crisp”, I don’t recall ever seeing it when I’ve bought canning supplies and spices. Thanks!
On October 6, 2010 at 11:23 am
wvhomecanner says:
PJ, it’s found along with the canning supplies in SOME stores. I have also found it at Kroger’s and most recently at Lowe’s (which surprised me!) in a canning display just like Angela did. You can order online from Jarden (who produces Ball products among many others) https://www.homecanning.com/
Dede
On October 6, 2010 at 11:58 am
mom2girls says:
i’m just curious as to how long these will keep in the fridge?
On October 6, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
I imagine they would keep a long time, but this is my first time having them so let me get Dede back in, she knows!
On October 6, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Julie says:
Wow. I wish I could have been at the party learning how to make pickles. 😥
Thanks for the recipe!
On October 6, 2010 at 12:51 pm
wvhomecanner says:
Confession time with this answer :bugeyed:
Two years ago (I think it was) I made these pickles during peak cuke season, so let’s say – August. Well, here come the holidays and somewhere between the turkey dinner and Christmas candy the 1/2 gallon jar ended up in the back of the frig. The WAY back. Fast forward (it seemed) to ummmm close to Spring. I’m cleaning the frig like Suzanne cleaned hers before The Party (and yours sparkles Suzanne!). And I find them and taste them. THEY WERE GOOD! If they had been a tad more crisp, they’d have been great! Thus came the idea of using Pickle Crisp. So I guess I am telling you the frig life is LONG. End time unknown?
On October 6, 2010 at 1:04 pm
DonnaTN says:
I made a batch in August for my brother-in-law for his birthday. He loves them and is already hinting for more. I used Splenda and they are still fabulous!
On October 6, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Cobby says:
Any chance that Dede will do a home canning blog.. I love all of her recipes 🙂
On October 6, 2010 at 2:23 pm
wvhomecanner says:
Awww Thank You Cobby! How nice! :happyflower:
I’m happy right now to be part of CiTR and Farm Bell! I do want to do some more guest posts on Farm Bell on canning recipes – would be glad to hear requests!
Dede
On October 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Melinda says:
About how long will these last in the refrigerator?
On October 6, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Melinda says:
ummmmm not really sure what happened here because I didn’t see those replies about fridge life before I asked that question!!!! Sorry!
On October 6, 2010 at 9:07 pm
wvhomecanner says:
No problem Melinda! :fairy:
On October 6, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Sally Ann says:
Oh, I have got to try those !!! They look delicious !
On October 7, 2010 at 11:53 am
Ramona says:
I’ve made pickels before. Use the recipe on the back of Ms. Wages pickling lime.
Never seen pickle crisp before.
On October 7, 2010 at 12:43 pm
wvhomecanner says:
Ramona, Pickle Crisp acts much like lime, but it’s much better and MUCH easier/lots safer to use. Lime (to me) always ends up with a pickle with the texture of a water chestnut. Just an odd texture for a pickle :yes:
Not so with Pickle Crisp, which is calcium chloride and is what is in many commercial products (including canned tomatoes) as a firming agent. Ball/Jarden actually markets it as the substitute for pickling lime.
On October 8, 2010 at 7:49 am
wvhomecanner says:
And here is the link to Pickle Crisp on the Ball/Jarden website if you can’t find it locally
https://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/new_products/2.php?product=323
On October 8, 2010 at 7:51 am
Kat says:
I LOVE making pickles but I havent tried it with the pickle crisp!! I will have to buy some for my next batch!! 🙂 Thanks!
On October 13, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Sheila says:
I’m a dill pickle fan myself , and I just bought a whole bunch of jars so I may have to try this sometime :).
On November 17, 2010 at 12:02 am
Sheila says:
Where can you find pickle crisp? I’ve looked everywhere (lowes , walmart , kmart etc ) and I cannot find it anywhere. (and I wanna make pickles) :(.
On December 4, 2010 at 8:38 pm