German Style Pickles

Who doesn’t like pickles. They go on sandwiches and burgers, mingle well with cheese and make a great snack on the go.

This is my mother’s pickle recipe. It’s a very traditional German pickle recipe: less acidic and a little sweeter than American dill pickles. No, it’s not a bread and butter pickle – they’re not that sweet.

The biggest problem you may have is to find a variety of cucumber with a thin skin. Head for a farmer’s market when cucumbers are in season (usually around July) and see if you find a French or German variety. If not, the typical pickling cucumber used in the US will do in a pinch, they’re just not as delicate.

I made a, rather lengthy, video about how I preserve my pickles. Since I’m not using a water-bath or pressure canner for this, you have to pay closer attention to the process to ensure you keep bacteria out. Don’t worry, it’s not rocket science and always use common-sense: when you open a jar and it bubbles or smells/tastes funky, throw it out.

Depending on the cost of the cucumbers, this recipe is about $4 / quart jar. You can find cheaper pickles but hardly any better ones.

German Style Pickles

This is a traditional semi-sweet dill pickle recipe from Germany. Slightly sweeter than the usually pretty acidic American Dill Pickles, yet far away from Bread and Butter Pickles.

Watch the video for more details.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Condiment

Cuisine German

Servings 4 jars

Ingredients

  

• 4.5 lbs pickling cucumbers preferably thin skinned variety like cornichons
• 1 bunch Dill
• 1 bunch Tarragon optional
• 1 bag pearl onions optional

Spice Mix

• 10 g yellow mustard seeds
• 10 g brown mustard seeds
• 10 g corriander seeds
• 8 allspice berries 2 per jar
• 5 g black pepper, whole
• 4 g fennel seeds optional
• 8 juniper berries 2 per jar
• 5 g dill seeds
• 12 cloves, whole 3 per jar
• 4 small dried chillies optional

Brine

• 2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 8 cups filtered water
• 4 tbs sugar
• 10 tbs salt

Instructions

 

Brine

• Mix all ingredients in a large enough pot
• Bring to a boil and hold at a slow simmer

Spice mix

• Mix the spices and add a table spoon to every jar. Make sure you follow the "2 per jar" ingredients, as spices like Allspice are very overpowering otherwise.

Canning

• Heat a large pot with about an inch or 2 of water. That's where the jars go (no, I don't use a pressure cooker for this, as it will turn the pickles to mush and that kind of high heat is really only needed for meat products or other low acidity, low salt things)
• Brush the cucumbers clean (I use a mushroom brush for that). Make sure to remove all blossoms as they will soften your pickles.
• Place a sprig of Dill and a bit of Tarragon (both fresh) in each jar, add one or two pearl onions (peeled - you certainly know that, but peeling them is easy when blanched. Just put in boiling water for 30 seconds and squeeze out). Add one heaped teaspoon of the spice mix (below) per pint of jar. Stack in the cucumbers.
• Now just fill the jars with the hot brine up to the rim (heaped). Place lids and rings, make sure none of the spices get on the seal. Hand tighten the rings and place in the large pot of water, turn upside down and let cool. All jars should have a solid seal and very little air (actually if filled up to the rim, most of the empty space after cooling is a vacuum)
• Store in a cool dark place and let steep for a week before opening.