How to Prepare Cucumbers for Pickling

Before you pickle those fresh cucumbers, you need to take a few minutes to prepare for the pickling process. The steps below will walk you through storing your cucumbers prior to pickling, gathering the pickling ingredients and finally cleaning and chopping the cucumbers.

Instructions

1. Place the cucumbers in the refrigerator in a moisture-proof plastic bag until you are ready to begin the pickling process.

2. Gather the ingredients you need to prepare the pickling solution by buying the ingredients or taking them from your pantry. You will need brown sugar, pickling spice, vinegars, mustard, salt and pepper.

3. Wash the cucumbers thoroughly in cold water until all dirt is removed from the skin.

4. Cut off 1/16 of an inch from each end of the cucumber, being sure to remove the cucumber blossom if it is still attached.

5. Chop the cucumber in equal slices for butter pickles, or chop the cucumber in half and then in lengthwise slices for dill pickles. The size that you chop the cucumbers into is up to your preference, but the larger the slices, the longer it will take to cook the cucumbers during the pickling process.

Tips & Warnings

• Pickle your cucumbers within a week of picking them from the garden. You'll get the best results from pickling your cucumbers as soon as you can after picking them. However, you may store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

• If you observe evidence that the cucumbers are starting to over ripen or rot, do not attempt to pickle them. Discard them and start with fresh cucumbers.