Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved bread and butter pickles. My mother’s garden always produced way more cucumbers than we could possibly eat, and she would turn the extras into pickles. I don’t remember if she made any other kinds. All I remember is the bread and butter.
Ingredients
5 pounds cucumbers
1 cup kosher salt
5 cups cider vinegar (not pictured, because I’m a dummy)
5 cups sugar
1½ pounds onion (also not pictured … big dummy)
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coarsely cracked black pepper
Directions
The brine
You can do bread and butter pickles either as chunks or as thin slices. So I did both.
I did about 50/50, figuring I could separate them back out when I put them in the jars. Stop laughing, I’m an optimist.
Dissolve the salt in a large pot with 6 quarts of water. Filling with hot tap water instead of cold will help it dissolve faster.
Once the salt is dissolved, add the cuke pieces and stir to make sure they’re not all stuck together.
Oh, a note on salt. You can use kosher salt, like I did, or pickling salt. Yes, they make special salt for this. But don’t use iodized table salt. The iodine will make the liquid all cloudy. Still tastes the same, but it will look gross.
My cukes kept floating, so I put the strainer in on top to keep everything submerged.
I don’t know that this was necessary, but it made me feel better.
Cover the pot and leave it somewhere cool overnight. The fridge is good if you have room. Otherwise a cool basement should be fine. When you open the pot the next day, there will be a bit of foam on top. Don’t worry, this is normal.
The flavor
Combine the sugar and the cider vinegar in a large pot over medium heat and stir until it’s dissolved.
Don’t inhale the steam from this. Cider steam will burn your lungs. (Okay, it burned my lungs. I’m assuming it would do the same to yours.)
While you’re waiting for the sugar to dissolve, slice the onion very thin.
Add the mustard and celery seed to the pot.
Wow, this looks like a lot of seeds.
Be careful with the turmeric. This stuff stains everything it touches. Remember those chewable tablets the dentist gave you when you were six, that would stain all the tartar and junk in your teeth so you knew where to brush? Turmeric is like that, except yellow, and it shows you where your pot isn’t spotlessly clean. I don’t want to get any of this on my counter. I’m afraid of what I’ll see.
UPDATE – Important note on turmeric: Because my measuring spoons wouldn’t fit inside the little jar, I dumped it into the spoon over the bowl. As you can see, I got a bit more than I wanted, maybe an extra teaspoon. Turmeric is bitter, peppery with a hint of mustard. In fact it’s used in mustard for bite and for color. Don’t put too much in your bread and butter pickles. They come out as a good hot pickle, but not what you would expect from a bread and butter pickle.
Drain the cuke pieces. I already had the strainer in my pot, so I just used that. Otherwise use the colander.
As I was about to add the cukes to the juice, I decided I should have cut the onions into smaller pieces. I was about to scoop them all back out onto the cutting board when I got a better idea.
Yeah, perfect. Now add the cukes and stir. If you measured everything correctly, there should be just enough liquid to cover the cukes.
Place over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
Don’t walk away. If your pot is as full as mine was, it can start to boil over the edges almost immediately after starting to boil. (No, I didn’t this time.) Then turn the heat down, cover the pot and simmer for five minutes.
Canning
Unless you’re having a party, or pregnant and having cravings, you won’t be able to finish all of these right away. You can let them cool for several hours in the pot, then store them in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge for two weeks.
Even better, if you’ve got the hardware, is to can them. In jars. Yes, you can things in jars. Don’t ask.
If I had read the recipe I was working from correctly, I would have 6 pint jars here. If you’ve done this before, or if you’re a good judge of volume, you’ll see that there are 6 quart jars there. This is why you always read recipes all the way through before you start. So that you don’t make mistakes like this.
I don’t have a special pot for canning, so I just grabbed something that was big enough to hold all the jars. That happened to be my roasting pan. It was more than big enough. So big, in fact, that when I started to fill it with water all the empty jars started floating and falling over. Oops. So I took the jars out, re-sterilized them, and packed the extra space in the roaster with drinking glasses.
You can get the cukes into the jars without a funnel, but not the juice. If you’re doing this for the first time, get yourself one of these wide-mouth funnels. They’re made especially for canning. You should find them where you get your jars and lids.
I started out with the tongs, trying to separate the slices from the chunks. Once I accepted that there was no way that was going to happen, I switched to the ladle.
I got lucky and there was exactly enough to fill the three jars.
Leave a half inch of “headspace” in each jar. The jars won’t seal right if you don’t. Just fill to the bottom of the threads and you should be fine. They also won’t seal right if there is any pickle juice on the top of the rim, so make sure they’re all clean.
Put the pot and filled jars over high heat and bring everything to a boil. Don’t expect a rolling boil in the jars, but you should see bubbles coming up. Go for about 10 minutes after the water in the pot comes to a boil.
The lids for canning jars come in two pieces, a ring and a lid.
After the 10 minutes of boiling, remove from heat and put a lid and ring on each jar and tighten barely finger tight. The ring should lightly hold the lid against the top of the jar. The heat will cause the air in the headspace to expand and squeeze out under the lid. When it cools, the air will contract and vacuum seal the lid. You’ll know it’s done when you hear a pop.
Three pops later, I’ve got three jars of pickles ready to … I was going to say “ready to eat” but they’re not. I’m going to leave these for at least two weeks before trying them.
And that’s it.
A note on re-using parts
When you open a jar, you’ll have to break the seal on the lid. Depending on how tightly it sealed, you might have to pry pretty hard. But no matter how easily it may have opened, you don’t re-use the lids. You can keep the jars and the rings and use them over and over, but the lids are a single-use item. That’s why they’re sold separately.
Whew, that was a bit more work than I expected. But it should go much faster next time. Which should be in another month or two when my father-in-law’s garden is ready to harvest. I’ll put some pictures up tomorrow of what I’ve got to look forward to.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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82 Comments
Yay! A canning post! But I would add that it helps to dunk the lids in hot water for a few seconds before putting them on the jars. That softens the rubber sealing part and helps create the tight seal.
I’m going to try to find a method for making fresh dill pickles today, to use up the beginnings of our pickling cucumber crop. It’s the pickling time of year . . .
If you sterilize the lids while the full jars are cooking, they should still be hot when you’re ready to use them. But does it really make that much of a difference? The top of the jar was nearly too hot to touch when I put the lids on. I assumed that was all the heat I’d need.
Oh, and that reminds me of a tip I need to go add.
I recently wrote a post about my grandmother and have been thinking about her a lot recently. These pickles were one of her specialties! I know EXACTLY what you kitchen smelled like and yes it can burn your lungs
Thank you so much for rekindling this memory.
Mel, I just figured out while reading your comment why I haven’t eaten these yet. The kids came home from the pool just as I finished sealing the jars. The five-year-old said that the house smelled funny. She was right.
I think, without realizing it, I didn’t want to try the pickles with that smell in my nose. It didn’t smell like food, it smelled like chemicals.
I’m going to crack one this weekend and see how it came out.
By the way, how close is this to your grandmother’s recipe? The color isn’t what I remember from my childhood, so I don’t know what to expect.
The only pickles my Dad made while growing up were Bread & Butter Pickles also! I ate so many, that I can't stand the thought of eating them again. They look good though! He made those and piccalilli. jars and jars of piccalilli.
I know what you mean. My father ate a lot of trout growing up. (His father was a fisherman.) To this day he can’t eat anything that smells the least bit fishy.
What is the difference between sweet pickles and bread and butter pickles. I never liked either, but I still remember my mother, aunt, and uncle getting VERY excited whenever my grandmother made bread and butter pickles. While I didn’t like them, it was still fun to see how they’d sit around and think of things to eat that would complement the pickles.
I cheated and added a tiny bit of tumeric to my chicken stock the other day to give it a richer color. It worked fabulously and didn’t change the taste in any way that I could tell.
I suspect “sweet pickles” can refer to a whole lot of different recipes. And while I’m thinking about it, I never understood what “bread and butter” has to do with these anyway.
As for the turmeric, you don’t need very much to add color to a dish. If you’re going for the flavor, like in these pickles, you’re using quite a bit. And I went a bit beyond that. (Oops.)
Great recipe! I made these this weekend, and they turned out perfect. What a fun thing to do on a chilly, rainy day here in Alaska! Thanks.
Kim
It’s still hot and humid here. I can’t imagine cold and rainy yet, though it will give me the chance to do more “recipes” and less techniques. There’s only so many ways to say, “Coat librally with salt and pepper, then put it on the grill.”
Nasty summer up here so far. Only a few days of sunshine. Oh well, it’s given me lots of time for fishing and now I have lots of smoked salmon in the freezer. You might like that for something to try on your site. Not sure how many of your readers have lots of access to wild salmon though.
Kim
I know one person who doesn’t have access: me. But I’d be more than happy to let you do a guest post if you want to show off your mad fishin’ and smokin’ skillz.
That would be so cool! Thanks for the offer. We got 5 more fish this last weekend, and I’ll probably be smoking them up in the next week or two. It is a drawn-out process, you start with the brine, and then the glaze, and then the smoking. I’ll take lots of pictures during the process and get back with you afterwards. I can let you know when I’m done and go from there. Where do you live?
Kim
Email me.
I tried, but the link doesn’t work……..
Okay, Blogger is doing something strange. I can’t make this link clickable here in the comment, sorry. drew@CookLikeYourGrandmother.com
I have made sweet pickles in the past useing my Mom’s recipe. It called for the cukes to be brined in lime water. Then rinsed and rinsed and rinsed. you get the picture. This does make the cukes nice and crisp. Why don’t we use lime water brine to make bread and butter or dill pickles? I am trying this bread and butter recipe for the first time to do something different.
OK – after more conferencing with my Mother, she did agree that my Ge (my name for my grandmother) rarely wrote a recipe down. She did, however, later in her life, enjoy a particular cookbook. One that my Mother reminded me that I had in my possession. Amazingly, I knew exactly where it was and there is a Bread and Butter recipe. Very similar to yours, but uses an ice bath and adds one green and one red pepper (sweet). Not my Ge’s recipe, but one from a cookbook that I know she approved of!
Debbieleigh, I’ve never had a crisp bread and butter pickle. Not sure I’d even like it … though of course that’s just because I’m not used to it. Do you have directions for that lime water recipe? I’d like to do dill next, and I like for those to be super-crisp.
Mel, I want to try pickling a bunch of stuff this fall. Peppers will definitely be in the mix.
I tried a recipe for hot dill pickles that called for 2 grape leaves to preserve the crispness of the pickles. I thought it was odd, but I had access to grapes leaves, so I tried it! The pickles turned out great, really crisp.
Grape leaves? That’s a new one to me. I’ll see if I can find some.
I love these pickles!
It is the only kind my Mom ever made. I made a big ole batch but they are too salty, my Mom’s recipe calls for only 2 hours soaked in salt water (and I followed your recipe). I am hoping the saltiness goes away a bit after they sit.
john
I’ve seen recipes that called for rinsing them after the soak. Might try that next time. But actually I’ve got a tip coming up for what to do with the over-seasoned ones that I did.
Just thought I’d chime in – late as usual – and add a comment that the “lime water” used to make pickles crisp is made with pickling lime. This is also known as slaked lime. Mrs. Wage’s (commercial brand) Pickling Lime can be found in some stores, but definitly online. If you are lucky enough to have an old-fashioned hardware store that sells canning supplies, they’ll have this.
Have fun with your dills Drew! Don’t forget a little garlic and a couple of hot pepper flakes.
Marianne
Oh … that kind of lime. That makes much more sense. Thanks for chiming in, Marianne.
Equal parts hilarious and informative! I’m definitely going to use your recipe, and hope I have as much fun as you seemed to. Many thanks!
Buffy, I’m glad you said something about these. I forgot I’ve still got a jar of these in the basement. Time to go crack it open.
How were they?
Buffy, I mentioned in the followup that they were more like a hot pickle because I accidentally added way too much turmeric. But then I made some hot dog relish with them that came out great.
you might want to add cooking times to your receipt
Jerry, do you mean listing the time up where I list the ingredients? That's not a bad idea. I'll try to remember to do that.
So, I can make these without doing the whole hot water bath thing where you have to completely cover the jars with water??? That is so COOL. Can you do tomatoes this way too? Also, is this the technique for dills as well? Love your blog Drew!
Wendy, you can do them without covering the jars, but I don't recommend it — at least not any longer. I've read a lot more about canning since I did these, and the directions to use full-immersion water bath are pretty universal.
However … pickles have traditionally been done in open-top wooden barrels that sit out for months at a time. Just keep topping up the cukes, vinegar, salt and spices. So I'm really not too worried that these are going to go bad.
I just tried your recipe and everything seemed to go just fine. This was my first time canning and as I began to check out other sites (ball and another official site on canning) they said to put the lids on and cover with water over an inch above the jars and process in the water bath… however I just filled the water over half way, lids off and processed then took them out, placed the lids and rings on. I am just wondering if my pickles will be safe to eat?
Anon, promise not to call the FDA or the USDA on me? Pickles are so high in vinegar that you could probably leave the jars open and they'd be fine. Have you ever seen a big barrel at a deli with pickles in it? Pickling was originally a way to preserve food. The fact that it happens to be really tasty is just a bonus.
I should tell you, though, that you really should do them completely submerged, especially if you plan on keeping them around for a while.
Thank you for the reply. I am relieved all my work is not in vain!! I will definately submerge next time. By the way I love your site… its so pretty and easy to follow :O) One more question, I was looking into doing my own pasta sauce and read up on yours… can I use my own recipe? As I was checking around, the "officials" seem to want you to use "already tested" recipies and I can't understand why I can't just can my own? Thank you again for your help. Athena
The reason for the "already tested" recipes is that canning is about preserving food. If you do something wrong, then set it on a shelf in the pantry for three months before eating it, you could make people seriously ill.
You could do something "almost right" a half-dozen times and get lucky, or you could get food poisoning. When you use the tested recipes, and follow the directions, you're extremely safe.
HI, you use the same recipe I do and it is very tasty. I don't have room for cans anymore, and I've been looking at freezer recipes, and none of them that I've found thus far use turmeric.
I'm wondering if you know, is turmeric one of those things that isn't safe to freeze??
I may be wrong, but I feel that ingredient is what gives the pickles their buttery taste, and they just won't be as good without it.
Nila, I don't know of any reason you couldn't freeze it. And by the way, turmeric is one of the key ingredients in most prepared mustard. It's got a peppery flavor, so it's what gives these pickles their tanginess.
Thanks Drew!
We have pickles running out our ears this year, and I so hate to see them go to waste.
I'm gonna give them a try at least. Some things I don't like at all from the freezer, and some things are do-able, but with practically zero pantry space, I just don't have room to store canned goods anymore, so wish me luck!
I love that I cracked up about six times just reading this recipe. Great site!
Uh oh, I only made four jokes …
Make these this morning….SUPER. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
My grandmother used to
make these. Got to the point
that everyone fought over the
onions, so she ended up making
about 1/4 cukes to 3/4 onions.
and we still fought over them.
Heh, that's good. I should cut the onions thicker next time so they'll hold up better.
Only a year late but I plan on using your recipe. Since it's almost October I hope I can still find some fresh cukes. I'm in the canning groove after putting up some salsa this past Saturday.
Diana, the cukes can't be all done already, can they? The only thing I've been keeping track of in my father-in-law's garden are the tomatoes.
just did a batch of sweet peppers and 6 pints of califlower using this recipe.which by the way is my grandmothers recipe also. cant wait to crack open the jars yummmmmmm
I have a concern about the pot you canned with. Hot Water Bath Canning requires a pot large enough to hold water which covers the jars to ensure that the internal temperature reaches a high enough level. Steam canning does make the lids seal but the method does not ensure the correct temp is reached. If the correct temp is not reached you can not ensure the bateria, molds, yeast and enzymes are killed and the food is not safe. I know our grandmothers used other methods but these days we have more bateria than they did in those days. Please can cautiously.
My blog is at http://frugalcanning.blogspot.com Thanks!
Fraulein, you're right, of course. I pointed that out on the page where I did tomato sauce, and I have since gotten a proper canning setup.
However, for pickles, there is so much vinegar and salt that in lots of places you can see them stored open indefinitely. Delis are famous for their pickle barrels.
Can you point me to anything showing why some pickles can be left open, while others might need water bath canning?
Hi Drew, I happened upon your website quite accidentally (love the name!) while searching for a bread and butter pickle recipe. Here in West TN the cucumbers are more than plentiful at this time of year so I thought, what better to do than pickle them? Your recipe is exactly what I was looking for, especially with regard to canning. I have one question though. When I use my pressure canner, the water comes to about 3/4 of the way up the jars. Would this be the same level I would need for the water method you described? Thanks, Darcy
I did about a half-inch of headspace. I know that pressure canning directions are different, but not having one of them I don’t know the specifics.
Drew I love your website, looking for a receipe for bread and butter pickles and came upon yours. I love how you have humor mixed with the receipe. I have cukes coming out my ears, gonna try yours on Monday, will let you know how they turn out, I have a good 3 day pickle receipe that I need to find that you will love, you actually put them outside in sun in a gallon jar for 3 days in a row, will post it as soon as I find it, will probably have to go to my friends and get it again lol.
Hi!
I was having a bad day and all your comments actually made me laugh at loud at my desk. Thanks a bunch and I can’t wait to try your recipe.
Drew you are hilarious and have given my family (I gave my mother and grandmother your recipe and they love it, best bread and butter pickles they ever had) a wonderful recipe for pickles. Thank you!
You are hilarious! I was searching for a bread and butter pickle recipe and found this site and what a great site! I found myself laughing out loud several times.
I have never canned anything before but will be growing cukes this year and wanted to make b&b pickles. I’ll definitely try this recipe.
I have made jam by the inversion method, but from what I have read elsewhere the inversion method is not recommended for canning fruits or veggies.
I’m also looking forward to checking out the other areas on this site.
Best regards,
Maryann
I just finished my first batch of B.&B.P. Had to try one (hot). When they started to “pop” I was so excited! I must have done it right. Can’t wait to taste them! I almost felt that my grandma was there with me.
tried them by your instructions the water was clear after sitting and im not too sure about all that sugar they are too sweet and not very crispy- do they have to sit for a while?
Bob, these are supposed to be sweet and not crispy. And yes, they need to sit for a while in the jar before they’re done.
thank you i will let them sit for a few weeks in fridge
Hi. I made bread & butter pickles tonight but forgot to add pickling salt while soaking them. I had already had them in the jars when I realized it. Will they still be okay? Or do I just need to chuck this batch?
Thanks!
Ooh, guess we know where you got the name.
I really can’t guess what it will do to the taste, but the big problem is that I wouldn’t trust them to have a good shelf life. If you’ve got room in the fridge, keep them there for a few weeks then see if they taste okay.
If they taste good, go for it.
Thanks, Drew. I will give it a try.
And yes, I come by that name honestly.
one more thing if too sweet how do you eliminate some sugar—-drain a bit out and add water or maybe beer? then back to sit for a while
Bob, you can’t really take it out once it’s there, but generally you can compensate by adding salt or vinegar. Since pickles already have a bunch of both I don’t know how much you can really fix this one, other than making a whole extra batch with less sugar and mix them together.
I just made a batch of B&B pickles using the above recipe. They seem to be softer than I expected…..what could have/should have happened?
Pauline, all the bread & butter pickles I’ve tasted were pretty soft. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some recipes out there that give you crisp ones, but I haven’t ever had them.
I was searching for a good recipe to make bread and butter pickles and pulled up this website. Your instruction were so funny; kept me laughing the entire time that I was reading. My husband and I love bread and butter pickles and have way too many cucumbers to keep us and our children supplied with fresh ones. I made dill pickles last week, now I’m going to make these. I plan to not boil the cukes, but rather just bring them to a boil and pack them in jars. I’m hoping that will keep them crispy. I’m lucky enough to have my grandmother’s pressure canner with the instruction manual. So, I have canned green beans, soup, and salsa. Keep having fun.
I have to say i have never laughed while reading a recipe. Very amusing sense of humor you have! Cooking should be fun, seems like you enjoy it. Am going to try your recipe, I do some canning but never pickles before. I do have one comment though, dont you worry about contamination by not boiling your lids and having jars open while cooking? Kind of a big risk to me. Much safer option to seal everything up 1st. Well here I go, wish me luck!
N
With pickles I’m not going to worry about it too much. Between the vinegar and the salt, they’re pretty well preserved even before the canning.
For things like preserves or meat sauce then yeah, I’ll be a bit more careful. But even then, worst case is you have a jar that goes bad. When they do go bad it’s pretty noticeable.
Hi Drew,
I like the sounds of this recipe, but I think the reason they “look” different is the turmeric. I don’t think my Gran used it…
The Main reason I wrote though, is that I had sort of an epiphany while searching for “Bread and Butter” pickles while talking to my friend from the south, who frequently says her nursing license is her “Bread and Butter.” Well, I grew “Mortgage Lifter” tomatoes this year, and learned they were thus named because the growers’ mortgage would be lifted because they could make a ton of money off the delicious and copiously producing plants.
So maybe these pickles were someones “Bread and Butter” or how they earned their living at one time.
PS, I’m not so sure why everyone is obsessed with crunchy Bread and Butter pickles either. The best ones I ever ate were my Grans and they were never crunchy; the onion might be a little crunchy, but never the pickle. It’s the nature of the beast.
That’s probably the best explanation I’ve ever heard for the name. Thanks for pointing it out.
I know this is an OLD entry but…. LOL at the scissors. You are so funny (and resourceful). I’ve never heard of such a thing like this recipe and I’m not a big pickle eater but I may have to try this, along with the other 10 recipes of yours I’ve bookmarked.
These were sooooo good! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
Drew
I love your website.
I have a quick question I hope you will answer it for me.
I just made my first batch of bread and butter pickles a few days ago, I went to check on them today and the juice has turned a yellow color and on the bottom of the jar looks like mustard or some kind of power. What did I do wrong?
Thank you
Lydia, turmeric has been used as a dye for centuries. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Hi Drew,
I made some bread and butter pickles last fall and out them 1L jars. I uses the method where the pickles are mixed with ice cubes and salt before they are put in the brine and canned. They are very tasty. However, every time that I’m about 1/2 way through a bottle I notice that the brine develops a waxy skim and end I end up tossing them. I open another jar and it’s fine. They are all properly sealed and then stored in the fridge after they are opened. I’m stumped and get seem to figure out why this would happen. My husband is wondering if our hard water may have been a factor from the ice cubes and from the rinsing. Our water is filtered though and I would think that if that was the problem I would see it when I first opened the jars. Any suggestions??
Denise, did you use pickling salt or regular table salt? Iodized table salt will lead to cloudy water. I haven’t heard of the problem with a skim on the surface, though.
Hi Drew,
I used Kosher salt. I’m really stumped by this one:-(
Cheers,
Denise
Hmm, one last guess and I’m stumped too. Cukes get a coating of food-grade wax in the grocery store. Try rinsing them after they cool overnight to make sure there’s no wax left.
Thanks Drew. Actually, my cukes come from my own garden so it’s not the store wax. Thanks for trying:-)
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