Pickled Mexican Sour Gherkins – the Recipe

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I’ve adapted a couple of recipes to come up with this one. It’s now really my own take on these tasty pickles. My recipe is for a small quantity, also. If you’re lucky enough to have a lot, just increase accordingly by the factor of how much you have to work with.

You will need:

• A Mason jar (just one for this quantity – not too large), with lid and sealing ring.
• A saucepan (medium)
• Spoon for stirring ingredients
• Measuring cups and utensils

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
  • Note: I think that it might be a bit tastier to use half white vinegar (3/4 cup) and half cider vinegar (3/4 cup). I did add a small amount of cider vinegar – two tablespoons – when I made the ones in my photos. For the first try, though, I recommend sticking with the white wine vinegar.
• 2 Tbsp Pickling salt (your choice here – Kosher salt works quite well also)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• ½ jalapeno pepper
• Up to one head of garlic. I separated individual cloves from the head of garlic, rather than using a whole head, as some sources recommended. It worked. And the cloves look really pretty in the jar, too!
• 2 dried clove buds (more to taste – not too many, or it will overwhelm the flavor)
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds, or you can use half brown and half yellow seeds
• 1-2 bay leaves (smaller size) You can grind the bay leaves if you want.
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 small chile or other hot pepper (jalapeno, serrano, or other) – this is your choice. I actually only used half of a very small chile. If you want spicier pickles, go for the full amount.
• fresh basil leaves or other fresh herbs that you fancy: basil – 4-5 leaves, depending on size. Other herbs are at your discretion. I’m not sure how dill would work out, but it’s the traditional flavor for many pickles. Or, you could try a bit of thyme, a few anise seeds, or a little parsley. Take care not to use too much, or you could overwhelm the rather delicate flavor of these pickles. I used only basil in mine.
• 1 cup sour gherkins, fresh picked

I made the pickles as the recipe is written, without the modifications, except as noted. They were super good. Warning – these little gherkins are addictive!

Procedure:

1. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Raise heat to a simmer and hold at that temperature until all the sugar and salt is dissolved.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except the basil (or additional herb choices). Do include the bay leaf, however. Once you’ve added everything, allow the pot to cool until the liquid is warm, not hot. The idea is to pickle the gherkins, not actually cook them.
3. Now, add the fresh herbs – basil leaves, or whatever else you are using. Put them in the jar, on the bottom.
4. Add the gherkins to the brine (liquid), then pour it all into the jar and seal.
5. Let cool, then put the jar of newly pickled gherkins into the refrigerator. Store them in the fridge.
6. Because the liquid was cooled, the jar probably won’t get a vacuum seal. And you don’t want that, since you didn’t actually go through a canning process. These should be safe just stored in the fridge and you can start eating them in a couple of days.
7. These are refrigerator pickles. Again, they are meant to be stored in the refrigerator and kept at refrigerator temperatures except when served for eating.
8. Disclaimer: I’m not a canning authority and it is not my intent to offer advice for long-term storage of sealed home-canned products. This is not meant to be instruction for sealed home-canned goods – just tasty pickles made for the refrigerator.

Want to try the pickles? You can get what you need via these links, if you don’t want to go out looking. The cucamelon seeds will give you plenty of crop for pickling. We all need jars, and it’s so convenient to get them from Amazon and have them arrive at your door. I’ve included links to two different packages for you. And – who couldn’t do with one of these nifty kitchen funnels? They are SO useful for every funnel need – not just for canning! Just click below and get yours!

If you decide that you really enjoy making pickles, or want to explore all the fun things you can do by canning or fermenting at home, then this book could be a great place to start. It’s always best to learn to do something the right way, and this book will give you all the information.

Have fun! Please comment and let me know how it went – did you like the pickles? What would you do differently? Did you try any of the variations? Post the pics on your Instagram and tag us @oaksandmagnolias. And – please share photos of your pickles on the Oaks and Magnolias Facebook page! I can’t wait to see them!