Bread and Butter Pickles

This is one of those recipes that you will look at and think “nah, I’ll just buy them.”  But let me tell you – you are missing out!  These are truly the BEST PICKLES OF ALL TIME!!!  I made a batch and loved them so much I asked my Mom to buy me some more pickling cukes at the Farmer’s Market so I could make some more.  Well, she bought my 15 pounds more!  Holy heck!  But I’m not complaining.  We now have pickles to last the winter and my kids and I are super excited!
 
Bread and Butter Pickles 
Source: Slightly adapted from A Feast for the Eyes

* 5 pounds pickling cucumbers
* 1 large sweet onion, sliced really thin
* 1/3 cup Kosher salt
* 3 cups cider vinegar
* 2 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 tsp. ground tumeric
* 1 1/4 tsp. celery seeds
* 4 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
* 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds

Oh how I love cucumbers!

Wash cucumbers and cut off the ends.  Slice crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.

Toss in a large bowl with the salt and onion slices.

Cover with about 4 to 6 cups of ice cubes and let sit for 4 hours or refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the bowling water bath.  Add water to a large canner with rack and heat to about 180 degrees.  The water should be high enough to be about 1 inch higher than the filled jars.

Wash jars thoroughly and heat water in a small saucepan; put the lids in the saucepan and bring to an almost boil.  Lower heat to very low to keep the lids hot.

Drain the cucumber mixture.  I was afraid they would be too salty but the salty taste goes away by the next day.

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the other ingredients and bring to a boil.

With a slotted spoon gently fill jars with the cucumbers.

Ladle the liquid into jars, dividing equally among the jars.

With a clean cloth, wipe any liquid off around the mouth of the jars and put lids on.  Adjust the screw on lids firmly but don’t over tighten.

Place filled jars in the boiling water bath, filling with more boiling water if needed to cover the jars.

Bring the water to a boil.  Cover and boil for 10 minutes.

Lift the jars out of the water and place on a rack to cool.

Makes about 6 pints.

They are so good you will eat an entire jar before you realize they are gone.

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Comments

  1. Someday I need to try this. They look so yummy!

    • Natalie says:

      My family loves this recipe. We did 20 jars last year and over 30 this year. Just remember to pack the jars because if you don’t you won’t have enough liquid.

  2. I think pickles are so pretty! I like making them, but I don’t like eating them. 🙂 I just have never acquired a taste for pickles, sweet or sour.

  3. Thank you for the blog love. I was just thinking that I need to make more pickles, because last year’s batch disappeared way too fast. So glad you enjoyed them, and you have done a beautiful job sharing the recipe. Thanks again! Debby

  4. We LOVE bread & butter pickles at our house too! We process TONS of them each summer and have so many to give away. I think it is my kids favorite thing that comes from our garden! Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a great week =-)
    Beth

  5. One of these years I have got to make a batch of pickles! I am loving the looks of yours 🙂

  6. There is really nothing better than a great jar of Bread and Butter Pickles, it is one of our favorite pickles. Your recipe looks great! Hope you are having a fabulous holiday week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

  7. These look awesome! I need to plant a few more cucumbers I think… featured this today! Thanks for sharing!

  8. I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were really yummy! Will have to make another batch

  9. Is a pickling cucumber a special kind of cucumber? We have a bunch of regular old cucumbers in our garden and wonder if we can make pickles out of those.

    • Hi Sue,

      Pickling cucumbers are small cucumbers – pickle size. They also typically have a thinner skin than the regular garden cucumbers. I wonder if you tried to pick them when they were really small if they would work. Try it. These are my absolute favorite pickles!

  10. These are great! I have used this recipe with the standard picking cucumbers and also with the salt and pepper pickling cucumbers. Great recipe! Super easy! LOVE IT!

  11. Hubby and I made these today, well we just finished them. I am looking forward to trying them. They turned out so pretty!!

  12. How long until the pickles are ready to eat?

    • Unlike dill pickles you don’t have to let them sit for months. We ate ours about a week later.

  13. What would be the substitute for using honey instead of sugar? We don’t use any processed sugars here.. Just the unheated, filtered local honey for sweetner.

  14. I’m in the middle of making these. So you don’t rinse the salt from the cucumbers/onions after letting them sit for 4 hours?? Thanks. Terri

    • No you don’t. If you think it’s a little too much salt, you can, but I didn’t and they were perfect!