Gherkins

[Angi]

My daughter loves pickled gherkins, so as a very special treat for her I am growing gherkins this year. Unfortunately, we're not big pickle eaters as a rule, and the last thing I'd do to most of my veg is steep it in vinegar. Having attempted to pickle some baby cucumbers only to have them turn a horrid brown colour in the jar, I need help and recipes for turning the rest of my little cukes and my gherkins into something resembling shop bought produce. Anyone out there a whizz with pickles?

[Beryl]

I'm not a wiz at pickles but I do know they need to be soaked in a brine first for 24 hours. This is supposed to keep their colour and crisp freshness.
Maybe someone else can confirm the correct way to do them.
I have an abundance of cougettes maybe I could pickle them to?

Beryl.

[retropants]

Hi Angi!
I pickle sliced gherkins flavoured with a little dill flower, and people absolutely luurve them!
First wash and dry your gherkins, then slice and soak overnight in brine. The next day, rinse really well in cold water. Bottle with standard malt vinegar and a dill flower (or some seeds). An alternative I have tried is popping in a garlic clove and some mustard seeds instead of the dill. If you want "Wallies" or whole pickled gherks, pick them small and soak for 2-3 days in brine. I find changing the brine each day helps stop them going brown. Then follow the recipe for the sliced ones.
Happy Pickling
Emma.

[Chantal]

I pickle as above but I don't soak in brine as such. I put the sliced gherkins on a large plate and sprinkle them with salt. I leave them overnight and in the morning rinse them very thoroughly and then pickle. I guess it works the same, it certainly worked for me last year.

[Angi]

Thanks so much, Beryl, Emma and Chantal. I will try sliced and whole. Do you think it'd work with very small (2-3" long) cucumbers?

[retropants]

Oooh, I don't know, in theory they should work, but I guess there is a reason that gherkins are labelled as such and not just small nobbly cukes???
Maybe someone else can clarify for you?

[Primrose]

Do the cucumbers have a higher water content than the gerkins? If they do this might be an impediment to their being pickled successfully, unless they are processed when very tiny. Hopefully somebody will have an answer to this because if my mini cucumbers plants crop as prolifically as they did last year, I might need to be pickling some too.