One-jar refrigerator dill pickles

Set up your workspace

Set out a clean pint glass jar and lid, small saucepan, spoon, knife, chopping board, vegetable brush, measuring utensils and label.

Use US measuring cups and teaspoons for these quantities; ordinary mugs and eating spoons vary in size.

Choose firm, fresh cucumbers. If you are picking your own, our guide to harvesting pickling cucumbers explains what to look for before you bring them inside. Check the fridge too: FDA cold-storage guidance sets 4°C as the upper limit. Use an appliance thermometer and leave a spot for the jar where raw meat cannot drip onto it.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups cucumber slices
• ⅔ cup white vinegar, 5% acidity
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 teaspoon canning or pickling salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dill seed

Prepare the cucumbers

Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds. Following FDA’s produce-washing advice, scrub the cucumbers under running water with a clean vegetable brush, without soap, then dry them with a clean towel.

Trim a thin 1/16-inch slice from the blossom end, opposite the stem. This follows NCHFP’s advice for preventing soft pickles: blossom material can contribute to softening. It is a texture tip, separate from the Food Hero method. Slice the cucumbers and measure 1½ cups. Measuring the slices is more reliable than counting whole cucumbers of different sizes.

Make the jar

1. Heat vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a simmer, stirring until dissolved. Take off the heat.
2. Put garlic, pepper flakes and dill seed in the jar. Pack in slices, leaving ½ inch at the top.
3. Pour in warm liquid to cover the cucumbers. Fit the clean lid and refrigerate.
4. Wait 1–3 days for flavour. Keep refrigerated; use within three months.

Label it before putting everything away

Write the date made, the use-by date and “keep refrigerated” on the label now. An unlabelled jar leaves the next person guessing. The three-month limit applies to this Food Hero recipe, not every homemade pickle.

Keep the fridge at 4°C or below throughout storage. Discard mouldy or suspicious food. A normal smell cannot tell you that a jar kept too warm is safe.

Leave room for a note when you open the jar: did you like the texture, and how did you serve it? Record the cucumber variety if you know it. That gives you something to go on when choosing cucumber seeds for the next batch.