Calling all bread and butter pickle lovers. This is one super easy recipe if you have extra cucumbers, zucchini and/or squash lying around from a giving neighbor, friend, relative or perhaps your own garden or farmer’s market. They are practically pennies to make when you find a great deal or you’re blessed to receive them free. My gardening neighbors delivered a bag of small cucumbers and squash and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with them. I’ve made refrigerator dill pickles last summer and I wanted to try bread and butter this summer. Here is my opportunity to mix squash in with the cukes and onions.
Here’s my best kitchen tips for making these delish pickles. At first glance, the recipe looks like pantry staples with salt, vinegar and cider, sugar and brown sugar. Then it becomes a little more deluxe with mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric.
KITCHEN TIPS:
In my opinion, not very common spices in most pantries. How can you buy these without paying $5 or more a jar? Drive to your local whole foods store and purchase just enough for this recipe. Look for spices in large glass alphabetized jars that is weighed by the pound. Very little will cost you pennies. I purchased enough to make two batches just in case I got a wild hair. It only cost me 15 cents!! Two of my spices weighed too little and the cashier told me they were free. I’d never heard of that before, but I didn’t argue. I now had exactly what I needed to make my completely frugal pickles.
One other tip for finding quart jars if you don’t have any around. Save several recycled spaghetti sauce jars or swing by your local Goodwill to discover quart jars cost only 25 cents. Or find a terrific jar like mine for 75 cents during a yard sale find.
I know this jar cost more since it was stamped Italy. I just love finding sweet kitchen finds during the summer.
I probably spent a around $1 for all my pickle supplies including the jar and pickling spices and pantry staples since the veggies were complimentary. God is good and I shared my pickles back with my neighbor. Isn’t that a funny story?
We enjoyed our pickles before the 24 hour mark. They taste super fresh and crisp on a picnic.
Enjoy this easy recipe from Recipe Girl
Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 -1/2 cups (1- 1/2 pounds) sliced pickling cucumbers, squash and/or zucchini (I used my wavy Pampered chef cutter)
- 1 -1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 -1/2 teaspoons mustard seed (I purchase exactly what I need from a whole foods store for pennies)
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine cucumbers, squash and or zucchini and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Move vegetables into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return vegetables to bowl. Add onion to the bowl.
2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture. Let it stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
These are awesome on homemade crock pot BBQ chicken sandwiches or crock pot BBQ beef sandwiches which will be coming this week. Save those pickles!
Have you ever made homemade pickles?