Cucumber Pickles, the Right Way
Pickles without vinegar have a short shelf life, but they are The Best
We take cucumbers for granted; they’re year-round staples with little character that you chop up and put into salads, make Sichuan-style, throw into smoothies. Some people still eat cucumber sandwiches; I know because I’m among them.
That’s all fine. But you’re not going to delight in a store-bought hothouse cucumber in January.
This is the time for daily cucumber eating, and for real enjoyment, whether they’re sprinkled with salt, grated into sour cream or yogurt, made into soup.
Still: When cucumbers are “in” desperate measures are required; that’s what seasonal eating is about. (Soon, we will be needing desperate measures around tomatoes.) Even if you’re not a gardener or a CSA member, cukes are everywhere.
This year, for the first in many, I thought about making what I consider to be “real” pickles, the kind you put up in jars and eat in January and think of summer, the kind that in my mind a real pantry is full of, and it took me a full day to reject that notion. Not only is canning a hassle of the first order, but I don’t even like those kinds of pickles. I don’t like pickling spice especially, but really what I can’t stand is food soaked in vinegar. (I am not sure…
