Today I'm posting the recipe my Grandmother always used for freezer pickles. Just a note to keep in mind this recipe only requires that the pickles do not have wax on them (store bought) any other variety is perfect even slicing pickles!

Freezer Pickles
2 quarts unpealed cucumbers sliced (4-6 large cucumbers make a quart)
2 tablespoons salt
2 Medium onions sliced (I think she used vadalia's when she could get them)
Mix and let stand 2 hours
Meanwhile make syrup of 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 vinegar
Boil only until sugar is melted.
Remove from heat, when cool set aside in refrigerator.

Drain cumbers and onions and squeeze out all the water (they make their own from the salt). Pack into plastic containers. Pour the syrup over the pickles, cover with a lid and freeze. When I was older she used ziploc bags to take up less space in the freezer and served them up in her tupperware "pickle server".

1/2 teaspoon celery salt can be added to each container if desired.

It might sound odd but I PROMISE it's wonderful.

Elizabeth, Thanks for the recipe. I've made pickles using a very similar recipe, and I agree - they are wonderful.

I can't imagine making them any other way. It's a down-home recipe! :D

Ohh how neat! I've had freezer jam, never heard of freezer pickles before. They sound good!!

Elizabeth,
I just picked 20 more cucumbers to add to my collection. Is your recipe sweet?? It sounds easy and I have an extra freezer. We just don't eat sweet or bread and butter pickles--we are a dill pickle family.

This recipe sounds do-able to me.
Thanks for posting!

I make refrigerator dill pickles. Boil equal amounts of water and vinegar. Add spices that you like (salt, dill, garlic cloves, mustard seeds, etc.). Pour cooled mixture over sliced cucumbers and store in refrigerator.

Elizabeth, I'm trying your whole wheat pie crust recipe today. It smells so good! We already ate the scraps! YUM!

quiltwoman, my pickle recipe is for SWEET pickles. They've got a nice bite to them, but if you don't like sweet pickles, you shouldn't make mine. :(

Chele we eat the dough at my house too. :wink: My daughter just loves it. My husband.... Now he has never liked dough and once when I was making pies he picked up a piece forgetting what it was and well let's just say he still doesn't like dough! :roll: It was rather funny at the time, because I just watched him eat it not saying a word. It's nice dough to work with, doesn't give me any trouble like white pie crust. :D How did your pie turn out?

Hmm....probably should have paid closer attention....just bought the cukes today & thought I'd double check the directions....we're a dill pickle household too.....darn! Why didn't I notice no dill in these.....hmmm....will do a search for something that sounds just as easy without heating the house up too much.

I don't guess I've ever heard of Freezer pickles...but they sound yummy.

sorry thimblebug. Sandpat commented on them being like salad pickles. I'd say they are tang with a sweet bite.

I also removed the typo in the recipe that was brought to my attention so hopefully it is more clear now.

Thanks for correcting the recipe as I was having a hard time with it. Am going to make these today Didn't understand where the water came from that I had to sqeeze out of the cukes. Thanks again.

Sorry about that Beachlady I typed it from the recipe, but of course the typo was my fauly.

The pickles do make their own water, and it will be sitting at the bottom of the bowl after the two hours is up. DHs takes the entire bowl and dumps it into a colander in the sink and then presses the cukes and onions downward in the colander. That seems to work fine.

That's what I did Elizabeth and they are now in the freezer. I used lots of pickling cukes and they are farm fresh, so they should be goooooood. Will let you know in a few days if I did ok.

I'm getting Some picking cukes this weekend So I'm trying your recipe. How long in the Freezer?

Let them freeze solid. I think sandpat told me her first batch lasted 24 hours in the freezer before she couldn't stand to wait anymore. :D

Once they have frozen solid you can take them out and put them into the fridge, let them defrost in there as the freeze and the thaw are a big part of the pickling process.

Elizabeth, I forgot to tell you how wonderful they are. I made 5 containers and have eaten two-I want them to last forever!!! Will do some more before the cukes are gone for the summer. I don't even want to share them with my family!!! Even ate one pickle slice frozen and it was good!!

:D :D I'm so glad you like them! Please enjoy them with a happy heart. Just think you and Sandpat can form the collection cukes ladies! :D

OH! How funny this hit me!
I am a big pickle-lover, but I stick to the unsweetened ones.

Time to make some more!!! Only one container left.

quick question- do you rinse them when you drain the liquid off them? I made some but it's something I'm not used to, so my verdict is still out. They are quite salty, but yet kind of sweet. Am I tasting it right?

Maybe I better open another container to taste again......

Thanks!

Barb

I did not rinse mine in the first step - but did let them drain a long time before squeezing them. I do not taste salt in mine.

We never rinsed them, I just put them in a colander and press them into it. I never noticed them being salty. More like a salad crisp with a sweet.

Everytime I've made them the salt is completely "dissolved" into the moisture of the cukes. Did you let them sit the entire 2 hours?

Also if you used the celery salt at the end, that would add a salt flavor to it.

They are different than what you would have at the store. Sorry you're disappointed...

My pickles are in the freezer, how long do I have to wait?

Ok ladies. What all do I need to make pickles? I've never done it before. I especially LOVE cucumber pickles.......

I would wait at least 48 hours - I think Elizabeth said the longer frozen the better they taste!!

Bev - the recipe is on the first page - all you need is cukes (I used pickling), vinegar and sugar, and salt. And onions.

Oh another thing - I thnk the cukes can not be waxed - remember reading that somewhere. So go to your local farm stand.

I left out the onions, they cause my allergies to go crazy.

ok girlfriend, what is a cuke?

A cucumber.

Cuke=cucumber - silly girl. And I forgot the onions - I used vidalia, but I love red onions too, so may try those next time. Red onions are stronger than the sweet vidalia.

duhhhhhhhhhh Bev. lol hey its not even 6 am yet. the brain is still groggy

back to the freezer- need to sample more..........

probably just me, first time to sample, probably overanalyzed them. Let you know tomorrow.

I thought they were absolutely easy to make- simple recipe, simple storage, probably is just me. now I need to thaw some more, I'm hungry for pickles.

Barb

Hungry for pickles? Do you need ice cream too??? lol

Papa always used the home grown vadalia's, but he'd say the ones he grew were never as sweet as the ones grown in vadalia county, which is in Georgia I think. I don't like onions, so I just grit my teeth when I put them in, so let me know how they turn out babeegirl.

Sandpat said her batch were only in the freezer for 24 hours. So anything after that "hard freeze" should be okay.

You're exactly right beachlady the waxed cukes are no good as the wax does odd things to the pickles and you can't just peal the skins off and go without - that will get you mushy pickles. (trust me I did it once)

do not have wax on them (store bought)

You can't just wash the wax off? Ok dumb here as I say never done this before.

I don't like ice cream! give me a good pickle any day. At least my cukes are free- sort of- they're from the garden. I think I've canned about 60 or 70 pints so far and about 10 quarts. I use my gram's dill pickle recipe and 1 bread and butter recipe from Ball (canning jar company).

No you can't wash it off. Have you ever tired to wash a cuke before you peal it for the salad or the like? The water beads up because of the wax, and when you handle them at the store your hands start to feel funny, that's a little of the wax rubbing off.

I have eaten pickles and ice cream, but it's always first one and then "oh doesn't that sound good" and gone for the other. Never did it when I was pregnant though. I think it has to do with the "sweet" tastebuds and the "salty" tastebuds.

oh yeah huh? darn.. our nearest farmers market is 20 miles

Does anyone have a simple recipe like this for dill pickles? My kids love dill pickle too.

Angie