There seems to be some confusion as to when a gherkin becomes a gherkin. Is it a cucumber until it is pickled, or can you actually grow a gherkin?

Well, we've been growing them anyway and have been looking forward to preserving them all through the summer. They've been nice and easy to look after, although next time we may plant a few more plants so as to provide enough small cucumbers in one picking to fill more than one jar. The tendency this year has been to leave them to get a little on the large side before picking.

Ideally the cucumbers should be no more than 100mm in length, as they can start to develop bitter seeds if too large.

There are two methods for pickling gherkins, Dry Brine (shown here) which produces a crunchy pickle, and Wet Brine (click here for blog post) which produces a softer pickle.

Both methods take around the same amount of time and use the same ingredients, so the choice is yours.

  See here for the dry brine gherkin recipe in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£0.00 1.5kg small gherkins (equivalent cost around £2 if you can find them - try Polish Delis)
£0.11 300g salt
£1.88 approx 1.5 litres spiced clear pickling vinegar
£0.04 2 tsp dill seeds / tarragon seeds
£0.05 1 clove garlic or 1 chilli
£2.08 Total
£1.38 per kg of pickles (about the same as buying from tesco)

I used the larger or our cucumbers, and sliced them using a crinkle cut knife. The slices are about 7mm thick, but could be any thickness you like.

The slices are layered in a bowl and liberally sprinkled with salt, which will draw out the water. The bowl is covered and left overnight, with a quick stir before bedtime.

In the morning it's always surprising how much water is extracted, around half a litre in this case.

The brine and any remaining salt is rinsed off in clean water and the slices then drained well. I found using a salad spinner helped here.

The traditional herb using when pickling gherkins is dill seed, but tarragon, caraway and garlic can also be used. Bay leaves, peppercorns of chillies work as well, but small amounts should be used as they will continue to flavour the pickles until eaten.
I just went with a teaspoon of dill in each jar.

The slices are then packed into clean sterilised jars and covered with simmering spiced vinegar. You can use malt vinegar of distilled vinegar, both of which are available ready spiced, or you can spice your own vinegar using this recipe.

Seal with an airtight lid and store in a cool dark place for at least several weeks.
The gherkins will soften with age, so are best eaten within 6 months.

Recipe Timings

10 minutes Preparation
12 hours in brine
25 minutes Draining & Bottling

Taste Test

These had a good crunch and a good taste, but were saltier than I'd expected. Next time I'll make sure they are rinsed several times before bottling.