These sweet and sour refrigerator pickles are nice and crisp because the vegetables aren’t cooked. This recipe is very easy and great for anyone who is new to home canning. Making a batch or two is a good way to use up some of your extra garden produce, if you don’t have your own garden pick up some fresh produce at your local farm market. Your delicious homemade pickles would also make a welcome gift for someone special.

Ingredients for pickles:
4-6 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 medium green or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pickling or kosher salt
4-5 glass pint jars and lids

Directions: Wash vegetables with Watkins Fresh Wash and slice. Place prepared vegetables in a large nonmetal bowl, add pickling salt, mix well and let stand for 2 hours. Prepare syrup while cucumbers, onions and pepper are sitting in the brine. Drain vegetables well and pack loosely into sterilized glass jars. Read how to sterilize canning jars, if you are new to home canning or need a refresher. Pour the following syrup over top making sure to cover vegetables.

Ingredients for syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1 Tbsp. Watkins Pickling Spices
1-1/2 tsp. Watkins Celery Seed
1-1/2 tsp. Watkins Garlic Flakes, optional

Directions: Combine syrup ingredients, let stand for 2 hours or until sugar dissolves. Keep refrigerated. Turn the jars occasionally to mix spices. Your pickles will be ready to eat in 3 days, flavor improves after a week. Makes 4 pints. Keeps well for 6 – 9 months but I’m sure they won’t last that long!

Watkins Pickling Spices is a traditional mixture of whole and broken spices, herbs and seeds, it’s a pantry basic used for pickles, corned beef brisket, seafood, marinades and other dishes. This seasonal spice is generally available from March to October. You can order it and your other spices in the Watkins US catalog or the Canadian catalog.