Keep this easy recipe on hand because you'll want to make it often. These pickles are only slightly sour because they are fermented in a brine of water and salt instead of using vinegar. Storing them in the refrigerator for a week helps them develop the best flavor.
What Are Half-Sour Pickles?
As the name implies, half-sour pickles aren't as tangy as their fully sour counterparts. This variety gets its mild tang and distinct flavor from a simple saltwater brine that usually doesn't include vinegar like heat-processed pickles do. You'll find those in jars at the grocery store. They're also pleasantly crunchy, salty, and keep their fresh green color because of their short fermentation process. Half-sour pickles ferment for half the time of sour pickles, which have a stronger flavor.
Ingredients
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4 cup bottled spring water
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2 tablespoon natural fine sea salt
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4 cloves garlic, chopped
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2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
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2 teaspoon mustard seeds
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1 teaspoon dill seeds
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6 - 8 sprigs fresh dill weed*
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1 ½ pound cucumbers, cut into 3-inch spears
Directions
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Make Brine
In each of 2 clean 1-qt. wide-mouth canning jars place 2 cups of the water. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt to each jar. Cover each jar with a closed airlock lid; shake to dissolve most of the salt.
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Add Ingredients to Brine
Divide the next 5 ingredients (through fresh dill) between the jars. Cover jars again; shake until salt is completely dissolved. Add the cucumbers to the jars.
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Refrigerate
Add airlock spouts to each. Let stand at room temperature 2 days. Remove airlock spouts and seal lids. Transfer to the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days before serving. Store the pickles and brine in the refrigerator up to 1 month.
*Tip
Add some flowering dill seed heads, if available.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 4 | Calories |
| 1g | Carbs |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 24 | |
| Calories 4 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Sodium 71mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrate 1g | 0% |
| Vitamin C 0.8mg | 1% |
| Calcium 5mg | 0% |
| Iron 0.1mg | 1% |
| Potassium 42mg | 1% |
| Folate, total 2mcg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.