Fast Pickling Cucumbers

Pee Dee State Farmers Market

On our travel back and forth to Virginia, we are in a rut stopping at places that have become familiar to us.  One such place is Florence SC where we refuel our car and frequent the Pee Dee Farmers Market located off Route 52 (not Route 58  that I may have stated earlier).  This market includes a 45,000 square foot drive through farmers shed filled with produce and horticultural products.  The market has an interesting web site worth checking out.

This time, my husband selected a huge water melon and I picked up a couple of happy medium sized cucumbers for fast pickling.   I also picked up three wooden crates that are normally used for packaging vegetables.  Any clues what I should do with the crates?

This rainy morning, I made three small piles of cucumbers for fast pickling.  In one pile, the peel and seeds were removed and the cucumber diced.  For another small pile, I removed the peel and thinly sliced the cucumber.  For the third pile, I sliced the cucumber and laid the slices out in a baking dish and sprinkled them with salt.  I read in some of my recipes to salt the cucumbers.  I assume it is to remove the water from the cucumber.  After an hour, I poured out a small amount of water from the dish and rinsed the cucumber slices.

Fast Pickled Diced Cucumbers

For the pickling liquid, I heated 1 cup of water and 1 cup of white vinegar with 1/2 cup of sugar until dissolved  For pickling spice, I used dill seed and dried dill.

In addition to the cucumbers, I arbitrarily also added diced Bell peppers and onions.

I packed small clean jars with the cucumbers;  sliced and diced, peeled and seeded, with or without peppers and onions.  Then I poured the liquid to cover the cucumbers, sealed, and put the jars in the fridge for using as condiments at a later time  This fast pickling cucumber is to be eaten within a short time.

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