DIY: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Pickling cucumbers and feathery stalks of dill seem like an anomaly amidst the mounds of pumpkins, peppers, and squash crowding grocery store shelves these days. But these persistent summer stragglers have been there week after week, reminding me that it isn’t too late yet to do the pickling I neglected to try in July and August. And as the days get colder and shorter, a jar or two of crunchy, tangy pickles perserves some of California’s legendary bounty a few weeks longer and offers a taste of summer into the rainy season.

These refrigerator dill pickles are tasty, inexpensive, and can be made in just a few easy steps.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Makes about 2 quarts

1. Wash and slice 14-16 pickling cucumbers.

2. Add 4 Tablespoons minus 1 teaspoon salt to a quart of water and bring to a boil.

3. In each of two sterilized 1-quart jars put:

• 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 small bunches of fresh dill
• half the cucumbers from step 1

4. Pour the boiling salted water to within a 1/2 inch of the top of the jar and seal.

5. Place jars in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Eat within one week of opening.

The finished product