Garlic dill pickles: the deli spear you make in a jar

This is the pickle for the person who misses the deli jar, the full-sour spear with real garlic behind it. It takes about 8 minutes of hands-on work, then the refrigerator and a few days of patience do the rest.

Most commercial pickles lean on artificial dyes and preservatives to hold their color and crunch. This one skips all of it. Apple cider vinegar stands in for white vinegar, since standard white vinegar is often distilled from corn, which sits outside the elimination phase. What is left is a clean brine of vinegar, salt, garlic, and dill, nothing else.

A note of honesty, the same one worth repeating on every quick pickle in this collection: this is a vinegar pickle, not a fermented one. It does not carry the probiotic benefit of a true ferment like sauerkraut or kimchi, only real flavor and crunch.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs cucumbers, cut into spears, discs, or left whole to fit the jar
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1.5 tbsp sea salt

Method

Divide the garlic and dill between clean mason jars. Pack the cucumbers in snugly, leaving about half an inch of headspace at the top.

Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until the salt dissolves. Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers, filling to within half an inch of the rim.

Lid the jars and let them cool to room temperature on the counter, then refrigerate. Wait at least 3 days before eating; the flavor keeps building through the first week.

Yield: About 12 servings, depending on jar size.

Storage

Refrigerator: 3 to 4 weeks in a sealed jar. This is a refrigerator pickle, not a shelf-stable canned one, so it needs to stay cold the whole time.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com by Christina Feindel*