A colleague of Jennifer’s gave us some pickles a while back and it was the first time I’d tasted a traditional short pickle. The difference is that they are only brined for a day or 2 and the taste is much less pickle-y and much more like fresh cucumber. Perfect on a hot summers day. Ela passed on the recipe to Jen, and here’s the result of our first try at it - it really can’t get much simpler

Ingredients: (slightly modified from the original)

Water

Vinegar

Salt – for one liter of liquid use 3 tablespoons of salt

Cucumbers – 1 kg – (approximately)

washed thoroughly and cut on both ends

Fresh garlic cloves (8 – 10 or more)

Pickling spices (optional)

Dill weed

Instructions:

Place the washed cucumbers into a non-metallic container. In a large pot prepare the brine - for this batch I used about 1 1/2 litre of water, 1/2 litre of white vinegar (note that some recipes use a ratio of half water to half vinegar, the original recipe used no vinegar). Bring liquid and salt to a boil. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the garlic and pickling spices and let sit for 5 minutes or so.

Pour the hot brine over top of the cucumbers until they are covered. Put a layer of dill on top of the cucumbers. Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, press the dill down into the liquid, and place the entire thing in the fridge for 24-48 hours.

Place them in jars or other containers, and they’ll keep for a couple of weeks - if they last that long!