Friday Favorite: Gherkins
I’ve always loved little gherkin pickles, both the sweet and the dill ones. Many years ago, I was given an old Farm Journal Cookbook that had a wonderful recipe that made crunchy sweet pickles. I always thought it would be perfect for gherkins. I tried growing an heirloom gherkin pickle, it didn’t do well. When I saw ‘Adam’ gherkins in the Johnny’s catalog I decided to give them another go.
Unfortunately, the cut worms got a few of my seedlings, so only two are producing cucumbers at the moment. I seeded two more to fill in a bit, but I definitely need to grow way more vines if I want to have enough for a couple batches of pickles. The problem with the tiny cucumbers is that you need loads of them to get the 3 lbs needed for a half batch of pickles. I’m thinking next year I may grow a row of 15, make one large batch of pickles, then rip out the vines and plant fall peas or broccoli.
The recipe I’m using is very involved (10 days it takes to make a batch of pickles). At least I have four vines of ‘Boston Pickling’ cucumbers for making regular pickles, so I’m harvesting those very small to increase my yields. I may also use the recipe in ‘The Joy of Pickling’, all the ones I’ve tried from that book have been fantastic.
What’s your favorite type of pickle?
Filed under Edible | Comment (1)
Refrigerator dills. I forget where I got the recipe, but it basically has the vinegar brine (I don’t do traditionally fermented pickles), a whole clove of garlic, and a head of dill in a quart jar. We all love them. I make about a dozen jars in a summer. They last until at least spring, though they do take up a lot of room in the refrigerator. Anytime I’ve tried canning pickles, I’ve been disappointed in the loss of crispness, so I’m willing to give up the refrigerator space. And the pickled garlic clove that’s left when the cucumbers are eaten is my favorite part.
to kristin @ going country's comment