Can You pickle cucumbers from the grocery store?
Garden cucumbers are the most common cucumber you will find in the grocery store. They are thin-skinned and contain a higher water content than pickling cucumbers. You can still make pickles with regular cucumbers if you and slice them.
Can You pickle Burpless cucumbers?
Despite the thin skin, burpless cucumber skins are tough. Therefore, brining may be difficult. Much like slicing cucumbers, burpless cucumbers can turn into soft and juicy pickles. Pickling cucumbers tend to be dry and absorb more of the brine. Furthermore, pickling cucumbers have crisp skins and flesh that many people like in their pickles.
Can you can cucumbers without vinegar?
I do rouge food preservation things occasionally but canning cucumbers without vinegar isn’t one of them. Since you need to add vinegar to can cucumbers you can do it in a water bath canner instead of a pressure canner .
Can cucumbers be canned?
That’s where canning cucumbers comes in handy! Cucumbers are one of the best vegetables to can because they make delicious pickles. Pickles are the perfect condiment for hamburgers or sandwiches, but they also make a great snack on their own.

Can cucumbers preserve without pickling?
Cucumbers have a high water content (they're ninety-five percent water), but they do freeze well. Freezing cucumbers is the best way to preserve and enjoy them all year round. It's advisable to freeze cucumber slices rather than fresh cucumbers; whole cucumbers become soggy and lose their flavor once you defrost them.
What's the best way to preserve cucumbers?
The best way to store fresh cucumbers is to wash and thoroughly dry them. Then, wrap each cucumber in aluminum foil to stop moisture accumulation and keep them in an open, plastic bag. Store cucumbers in the middle of the fridge rather than the bottom because it tends to be colder at the bottom.
How do you store cucumbers long term?
Wrap individual whole cucumbers in a paper towel to soak up the water the cucumber releases and prevent them from getting mushy. 3. Place the cucumbers in a storage container. Place the wrapped cucumbers in a zip-top bag or in an airtight container to keep them from drying out.
What is difference between pickling cucumber and regular?
Pickling cucumbers are shorter and bigger around than slicing cucumbers. They are bred to have thinner skins and black spines so the pickled product will look better. Pickling varieties can be eaten fresh and slicing varieties can be pickled, but the differences can be discerned by the average consumer.
What do I need to can cucumbers?
Ingredients & Supplies NeededCucumbers – only use those of a pickling variety.Water – filtered or distilled is best.Vinegar – any vinegar that's 5% will do. ... Sugar – these aren't sweet pickles, but the sugar helps with the flavor of the pickling spices and dill!Salt.Pickling Spices.Cheesecloth or Butter Muslin.More items...•
What can you do with overabundance of cucumbers?
Check out these ideas for what to do with an abundance of cucumbers....Eat Them RawSlice them and eat them (plain or sprinkled with dill)Cucumber sandwiches with toasted bread, cream cheese, cucumber slices, and dill.Cucumber salad (lots of varieties you can make)Sliced cucumbers in a green salad.
How do you store cucumbers before canning?
Before storing fresh cucumbers, wash them thoroughly and remove any residual dirt or debris. Do not use soaps or abrasive materials. Rinse the cucumbers and let them completely air dry before placing them in ventilated plastic bags and storing in a cool, dry place.
How do you store cucumbers in a Mason jar?
Wash the cucumbers and put them into the Mason jar. Combine all of the other ingredients into a bowl, mix, and then pour over the top of the cucumbers, leaving one inch of headspace. What is this? Cover the jar tightly and place it in a dark area of the room for three days before refrigerating.
Can you freeze cucumbers for later use?
Once they're frozen, transfer the cucumber slices into zip-top bags for long-term storage. Frozen cucumber slices can be used straight out of the freezer to make smoothies and chilled soups. You can also make freezer pickles, which Weinstein likens to frozen cucumber salad.
Can you pickle without pickling salt?
Kosher salt can be used as a substitute for pickling salt, so long as it doesn't contain any anti-caking agents (this can vary from brand to brand).
Can I put cucumbers in pickle juice to make pickles?
All you need are cucumbers and leftover store-bought pickle juice. Any brand works such as Vlasic of Claussen. You can also use any whether it is spicy, bread and butter, dill, or sweet. Whatever you like, save that pickle juice to reuse and make a small batch of quick refrigerator pickles.
Why are my pickling cucumbers bitter?
Answer: The bitterness in cucumbers is produced by the compound cucurbitacin. Cucurbitacins are normally found in the leaves, stems, and roots of cucumber plants. The cucurbitacins spread from the vegetative parts of the plant into the cucumber fruit when plants are under stress.
How many ways can you preserve cucumbers?
Canning, Freezing, Dehydrating and Fermenting Cucumbers. There are 4 main ways of eating up your cucumber harvest, outside of devouring them in raw form. Each are practical in their own way.
How do you use frozen cucumbers?
Eat these freezer pickles like traditional pickles, or add to salads or dips. You can also chop them to use as relish or blend the chopped cukes with mayonnaise to make your own tartar sauce. Cucumbers retain a nice crunch when frozen this way.
How do you store cucumbers in a Mason jar?
Wash the cucumbers and put them into the Mason jar. Combine all of the other ingredients into a bowl, mix, and then pour over the top of the cucumbers, leaving one inch of headspace. What is this? Cover the jar tightly and place it in a dark area of the room for three days before refrigerating.
You Need to Know a Little Something About Growing Cucumbers
Before we even begin to look at all the ways to preserve cucumbers, you might want to know a few things about growing them.
Canning, Freezing, Dehydrating and Fermenting Cucumbers
There are 4 main ways of eating up your cucumber harvest, outside of devouring them in raw form. Each are practical in their own way.
Temporary Storage of Pickles
There are two types of pickles for short-term storage of cucumbers: toss them in vinegar solution and the ferment-and-wait plan.
Finally, Cucumber Pickles
An article on cucumber preservation wouldn’t be complete without a handful of recipes for pickles.
Preparing Cucumbers for Canning
There are various ways to can cucumbers, but all of them require the same preparation. The key to canning is choosing the right cucumbers and preparing them properly for the preservation process. To start, pick the cucumbers early in the morning for the best flavor.
How to Can Cucumbers
Regardless of the canning cucumber recipe you use, the process of preparing the pint jars and putting them in the canner is the same, as are the items you need. The prep time is relatively short, whether you’re doing water bath canning or using a canner, and is worth the results of delicious canned cucumbers year-round.
Simple Canning Cucumber Recipe
Learning how to can cucumbers so they taste like classic, crunchy dill pickles is easy with this recipe. Start by leaving your freshly picked cucumbers in a large bowl of ice water overnight and prepare your jars.
How to Make Refrigerator Pickles
This simple refrigerator pickle recipe doesn’t require the preserving process. The total time you need for this recipe is only about 30 minutes. How long do cucumbers last in the fridge after making a refrigerator pickle recipe? They keep in the refrigerator for up to three months if you don’t eat them all before the time is up.
Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe
This easy recipe produces yummy, old-fashioned sweet pickles. It may take longer than the other recipes on the list, but you won’t regret it once you have your first taste. For more authentic bread and butter pickles, start by cutting your cucumbers into even slices.
Pickling Cucumbers for Kosher Dill Pickles
This recipe offers a delicious take on dill pickles. After following the recipe, give the cucumbers about one to two weeks to ferment before eating. For a little bit of extra heat in these dill pickles, add half a teaspoon of ground turmeric.
Canning Cucumbers with other Vegetables
If it’s your first time trying to can or pickle something, then you might not know if pickled cucumbers suit your taste buds. If that’s the case, you might want to try canning pickled cucumbers with some other vegetables to see which you prefer.
Canning Cucumbers
Otherwise known as pickles or relish. People seem to either love or hate pickles. And if they love them, they definitely have strong opinions about which ones they love. Some love sweet pickles and hate savory ones, and some people are just the opposite. I tend to really like them both.
Fermenting Cucumbers
Another way to make pickles is to ferment them using a brine. I started fermenting this year and so are I’m loving it. I’m using mason jars and the Easy Fermenter system which is super easy to use. One thing I like about fermenting the cucumbers instead of canning them is that the hands on time is minimal with fermenting.
The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables
If you you’re looking for more preserving inspiration, I know you’ll love The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables. In this book I share how to can, dehydrate, freeze and ferment almost every vegetable. I also share 100 favorite recipes for preserving the vegetables in fun way that will save you time and money later. Get your copy here.
Making Pickles from Regular Cucumbers
When we say “regular cucumbers” these are referred to as “slicers”. Slicing cucumbers tend to contain more water than pickling cucumbers. Therefore, they are not as crisp as pickling cucumbers. Instead, they are fleshy and thin-skinned, this can somewhat affect their ability to absorb flavor from the brine and makes them naturally not as crunchy.
Making Burpless Cucumber Pickles
Burpless cucumbers are sweeter than other cucumbers and have thinner skins. This can produce a rich flavor. Despite the thin skin, burpless cucumber skins are tough. Therefore, brining may be difficult.
Pickling Cucumbers Make the Best Traditional Jarred Pickles
Pickling cucumbers tend to be dry and absorb more of the brine. Furthermore, pickling cucumbers have crisp skins and flesh that many people like in their pickles. These cucumbers are very flavorful even though their pickling can significantly change their flavor.
Fresh Pack Pickles Can Use Various Cucumbers
Normally, pickles take more than a week to brine in a jar. When you jar pickles, you should try to pickle pickling cucumbers for a longer time to establish a full flavor.
How To Make The Best Jarred Pickles
Many people have different ways to make pickles. If you want to produce crunchy pickles you should definitely use pickling cucumbers. There is no advice to make slicing cucumbers nor burpless cucumbers as crisp as a pickling cucumber. If you want crunchy pickles some of the general advice given includes:
How To Make Flavorful Pickles
Some rich flavors could be produced from a rich brine or vinegar when pickling. However, you can produce a variety of flavors using:
Safety Issues with Pickling
Pickling is a fairly simple process, and you can produce richly flavored pickles with ease. One of the reasons for the flavor is the fermentation and the formation of bacteria including lactic bacteria. However, depending on their pH, pickles and their brine also make a great media for deadly bacteria including Clostridium botulinum.
Can you eat pickling cucumbers?
You can surely eat pickling cucumbers as sliced, raw, or even by making pickles out of them. Pickling cucumbers have a very thin and delicate texture which doesn’t require you to peel them off. Moreover, their seeds are also soft-skinned which allows you to eat the whole cucumber.
Are pickling cucumbers good to eat raw?
The soft skin, tender seeds, crunchy flesh of pickling cucumbers make them somewhat eligible to eat raw. Even though, pickling cucumbers taste best when pickled since they’re harvested for processing in the first place.
Can you eat pickling cucumbers off the vine?
You can definitely eat pickling cucumbers fresh off the vine. Since pickling cucumbers do not develop any longer after you remove them from the vine, you can serve them raw as salad.
Do pickling cucumbers taste good?
Pickling cucumbers taste delicious when you cook them with the correct ratio of vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, and other firming agents. Apart from the cooking ingredients, you may want to look into the type and texture of the cucumbers you’re picking for pickling.
What are pickling cucumbers good for?
You’ll be surprised to know that there are many things that pickling cucumbers are good for. You can serve pickling cucumbers with rice and chicken curry as a side dish.
How to eat pickling cucumbers?
There are several ways you can adapt to eat pickling cucumbers. All of the ways ensure the nutrition quality of the cucumbers.
Is there a difference between pickling and regular cucumbers?
There are some obvious visual and non-visual differences between pickling and regular cucumbers. Differences between pickling and regular cucumbers –
Ways to Pickle Cucumbers
Besides the standard canning method, cucumbers can be made by fermenting either on the shelf or in the refrigerator, made into relishes, or made into fruit pickles. Those options are just a start. There are literally hundreds of recipes for making pickles out of cucumbers.
Step by Step Process for Traditional Dill Pickles
Pickling cucumbers are usually thicker-skinned than other varieties, which helps them stay crisp. If you plan to slice them (do not skin dill pickles), then the sizes won’t matter. To pickle them whole, you’ll need to select pickles that will easily fit into a jar – the thinner varieties often work well for this.
Want to learn more about pickling cucumbers?
Pickling Cucumbers from Oregon State University Common Cucumber Questions and Answers from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Different Kinds of Pickles
There are all different kinds of pickles out there. While recipes are a great guide for making pickles, your pickle preference should be considered too. You can use an English cucumber in just about any of the traditional kinds of pickle recipes.
How an English Cucumber Becomes a Pickle
Flavors are absorbed in the pickled process when foods are soaked in a brine or vinegar. The acidity of the pickling liquid breaks down the skin and infiltrates the flesh. This is where the flavor sinks in and takes the cucumber to the pickle level.
English Cucumber Pickle Recipes
English cucumbers are often labeled seedless or burpless in the grocery store or as plants for your garden. These long and narrow cucumbers are not entirely seedless. The seeds are much smaller than other cucumbers, so there’s no need to remove them.
