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What to with pickling cucumbers...

16 years ago

...besides pickling? :o)

Got a bunch of pickling cucumbers in the co-op box yesterday. I have no canning equipment at all and no pickling spices, and don't feel like buying all that stuff for a few cucumbers. Is there anything else I can do with them? Are they suitable for salads? I googled, but all I could find were pickling recipes.

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Comments (9)

dgkritch
16 years ago
You can definitely eat them in salads.
Search for refrigerator pickles. Pretty much just sliced, add some onions, vinegar, a little sugar, dill maybe.
Many variations on a recipe! No processing, just keep in the fridge and eat over the next few days.

Make a cuke, tomato, onion salad. Vinarette type dressing.
Add them to pasta salads.
Puree a few with some plain yogurt and use instead of mayo on pita sandwiches.

Anything you'd do with a regular cuke, you can do with a 'pickler'. No need to peel as the skins are so tender.

Deanna
jimster
16 years ago
Picklers are not only "satisfactory" for salads, I prefer them to slicers. I like pickling cukes for every purpose. It's the only kind I grow in my garden.

Jim
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Off season, if I want cukes, I always look for the pickers in stores. You would be surprised at how many people turn up their noses to the picklers, and buy those dark green greasy skinned ones. I used to also by the long English ones, but they are still lacking the character of a pickler cuke. I know someone who peeled the picklers. Thats where most of teh goodness is. Now, they realize what they were missing all this time. I would think a freezer pickle would be mush. Some people don't mind mushy canned items. I prefer the firmness of the vegetables, and will go out of my way to make something that isn't exposed to a lot of heat, as thats the first thing that can cause a jar of mush. Non burpless cukes will not cause burps after they are fermented or pickled in a vinegar brine. I grow maybe 4 differnent types of picklers. They all look similar, but some mature much earlier than others. You can see a 2 inch cuke today, and tomorrow its grown to 4 inches long. Suitable for picking. If you let it go another day, it gets even longer, but also bigger around. Once the 4-5 day occurs, the rest of the cukes on that same plant will slow down and stop growing. While I was in the hospital, my cuke plants all died, and had a few big huge yellow monsters that were just squished under the wheels of my tractor.
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Hello! This is my first time canning cucumbers to make pickles. I followed one recipe which told me to soak the cuces in salt water for up to seven days in the fridge before canning. I soaked them for maybe about 15 hours and then canned some. However, when I took them out of the cold salt water they were bloated and softer than when I put them in there! I am using field cucumbers from my garden (not dill pickle cucumbers) and I had also cut off both ends of the cucumber before soaking them (as the recipe suggested). I know I only need to cut off the blossom end but wasn't sure which was which so just cut off both ends. I would think that cutting off the end(s) would leave the cucumber open for more salt water to get inside (and hence the waterlogged result I got). But reading online a bit I see that the idea is to get the salt into the cucumber so as to draw out the liquid - moisture. I think that my result was just the opposite. I washed them off and cut them into spears and canned them. They sure seemed mushy though. I still have 6 medium/ big cucumbers salt soaked but now washed sitting in a collander in my fridge. Might can them or may just compost them....or ??? A shame really bcs straight out of the ground they are really yummy. I watered regularilly and we had a sunny summer. I just cant eat so many of them raw! I am thinking next time just to skip the salt water brine and pickle them straight from the garden. Thoughts and ideas welcome please and thanks :) Jade in Vancouver Island,BC, Canada. Pacific Northwest.
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I am in Santa Barbara and have a tough time growing cucumbers. Powdery mildew is the main problem. this year I am spraying with milk once a week and the slicing cucumbers and squashes all look great so far. My question is: what variety have other zone 10'ers had good luck growing? I've been growing "homemade pickles" the last couple years, with marginal success. I always thought the problem was the PM. this year, the "homemade pickles" plants are really lagging behind other cucumbers planted at the same time, really small and stunted. I bought some "Miss Pickler" but haven't planted them yet. I appreciate any suggestions. thanks.
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Parisian is a gherkin or cornichon cuke normally used for making whole, small, sweet pickles (check out a jar in the store to get an idea of the size). I suppose they can be dilled too but the recipes for them are mostly for sweets. Average size for pickling in approx. 1 1/2 to 2" long. Smaller is fine - some prefer them at 1" - but much larger than 2" and they tend to get soft or mushy when pickled. The spines are normal for them - like most pickling cukes - and they wash off easily. Dave PS: if this is your first time home pickling then be very sure you are only using one of the tested and approved recipes for making them.
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User
16 years ago
Slice them thin, slice some sweet onions thin. Mix two parts sour cream with one part vinegar, some salt and pepper. Pour over the cukes and onions, refrigerate for an hour or so...or not.........yum!
User
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all the suggestions, I am glad they are not just for pickling.
There will be lots of cucumber salads on the menu this weekend. :o)
coconut_nj
16 years ago
Like Jim, I like them better than the smoothies... smiles. I love them for snacks, nice and cold out of the fridge, peel and dunk into a little salt. I don't like raw onions so I like them with just vinegar [cider or wine] and some water.

If I'm going to slice them I always have to put the fork marks down them. Reminds me of my Mother and I think they taste better like that. Does anyone else like to fork their cukes? Love that pretty scalloped look.
jessyf
16 years ago
Does anyone else like to fork their cukes?

Ummmm....
coconut_nj
16 years ago
Grins.... had a feeling that would lure you Jessy. lol..
acey
16 years ago
I find it difficult to fork the cukes, but I do like the look. Is there an easy way to get those grooves?
jimster
16 years ago
"Is there an easy way to get those grooves?"

Yes. There is. Get a Kiwi Brand Thai peeler. Use it carefully when peeling hard vegetables such as carrots. If it slips you can get a nasty cut.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Kiwi Brand Peeler

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