HALF SOUR PICKLES

After years of zesty but vinegar-y Heinz and Mount Olive—kept trying to find the taste of those pickles in a barrel I remembered from way back. Finally discovered that the very best ones were always home-made—-and they didn’t have any vinegar!!! And therein lies the perfect pickle of memory. “Half sours”—who knew that’s what they were called.

The best part of this story is that they take about 15 minutes to make—the worst part is that they don’t taste really great until 4-5 days later. So here they are.

HALF SOUR PICKLES
• 4-5 small Kirby cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons of salt (Kosher or sea salt)
• Coriander seeds, black peppercorns, crushed
• Fresh or dried dill weed
• Sliced garlic
• (optional) Bay leaf, mustard seeds
• Distilled water

Wash and dry cucumbers-halve lengthwise. Pack cucumbers and sliced garlic into a clean, screw-top glass jar. Put salt, crushed spices and herbs in jar. Fill jar with distilled water—put crumpled wax paper on top to hold pickles down. Cover tightly and shake well. Keep refrigerated, shaking once daily—ready to eat in 4-5 days. They will stay “half-sour” and crunchy for about 2 weeks—if you can keep them that long!!

The Kitchen Hive