Brine-less vacuum pickles

After all these pickle experiments, I’ve noticed that there’s only so many pickles I can eat. When I started this summer, I only had a few jars, so in order to try a new recipe I had to hurry up and finish one of the jars I already had. Now, after I’ve collected jars for months, I’ve found a way to get around the jars completely.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe found on a packet of Japanese cucumber pickling spice mix, to use spices for half-sour kosher dills. I’m not sure that these will ever get very sour as they are not fully “pickling”. Make a small amount at a time and eat them within a week. These will make more of a tasty treat than a long lasting preserved pickle.

While I love the aesthetics of glass jars, one frustration I’ve had is the difficulty of getting more than just a few whole pickles into a jar. All of the jar pickles I’ve made had to be cut down into spears or coins in order to fit into their jars. I’ve missed the satisfying crunch that comes from biting into a whole pickle.

Recipe: Brine-less Half-sour Cucumber pickles

1/5 lb small thin cucumbers (ex: Persian, Israeli, Japanese, baby seedless, etc.)
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground allspice
1 handful of fresh dill (stems set aside or frozen for later use)
zippered storage bag


Clean and dry the cucumbers. Put them in a zippered storage bag that has enough room to fold over as you’ll have to press the air out.
Add all of the spices to the bag. Massage the rub onto the cucumbers. Some of the liquid will be pulled out of the cucumbers over time.
Press all of the air out of the bag and seal. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy as early as 12 hours later. Rinse before eating (unless you really like salt).

One year ago: Cheesy Macaroni with Baked Acorn Squash and Tomato Sauce

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