Sweet Gherkins Recipe - Food.com (2024)

Submitted by Sally

"This recipe is on several internet sites so not sure who really to give credit to but did not see anything like it on Zaar. I looked at it and thought "Oh Brother" but it was worth it. Really it was! Super little sweet crunchy gherkins!"

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photo by Sally

Ready In:: 120hrs
Ingredients:: 10
Yields:: 7-9 Pints

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ingredients

5 quarts cucumbers (Pickling cucumbers 1 1/2 to 3 Inch long)
¹⁄₂ cup pickling salt
8 cups granulated sugar (divided through recipe)
6 cups distilled white vinegar (divided through recipe)
³⁄₄ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons celery seeds
2 teaspoons pickling spices
8 pieces cinnamon sticks (1 inch)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon fennel seed (Optional but good)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Optional but good)

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directions

Wash cucumbers, blossom, ends removed. Use the littlest ones you can find!
FIRST DAY:
In the afternoon, place cucumbers in large bowl and cover with boiling water; let stand 6 hours or overnight.
SECOND DAY:.
In the morning, drain cucumbers and cover with fresh boiling water. Let stand 6 hours.
In the afternoon, drain cucumbers; add salt; cover with fresh boiling water.
THIRD DAY:.
In the morning, drain cucumbers; prick with fork. Combine 3 cups of the sugar, 3 cups of the vinegar, herbs, and spices (except vanilla extract) in a pan. Heat to the boiling point and pour over cucumbers.
In the afternoon, drain syrup mixture into a large pan; add 2 cups of the sugar and 2 more cups of the vinegar. Heat to boiling and pour over cucumbers. Cover and let stand.
FOURTH DAY:.
In the morning, drain syrup mixture into a large pan; add 2 cups of the sugar and 1 cup of the vinegar. Heat to boiling and pour over pickles.
In the afternoon, prepare jars. Drain syrup mixture off pickles into large pan; add remaining 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract (if using) to syrup; heat to boiling. Pack pickles into clean, hot jars. cover with hot syrup leaving 1/2 inch head space; seal. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Questions & Replies

uh after the first boiling water soak, my lil cukes were yellowish and seemed to b fermenting. I washed them off and did the 2nd boiling water deal. Put pie plate on top and left on counter. should they b in the fridge for these waiting periods? Geesh, hope I'm not ruining all these precious little cukes! Help!!

jebp6353
Great Recipe! Has anyone found they are having syrup left over and if so have you tried saving it to use in a future batch?

shphrdstblps235
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I'm on day 4 but the pickles seem rubbery not crunchy. At some point in the process should I use pickle crisp granules? If so, when. Only made 2 pints to try it, but would like to try again. Also, each day when they are soaking in the boiling water/brine, should the bowl be covered and should they just be out at room temperature? Last, can they be eaten right away or do they need to be sealed and sit for a certain length of time?

Anonymous
On Day 3 - only using 3 c sugar and 3 c vinegar. That doesn't come close to covering my pickles - am I missing something or do we not have the pickles totally covered at this point?

jaci5150
Hi there! I was just wondering when it calls for 1 inch cinnamon sticks oh, does it mean 1 in in length or 1 in thick?

jax_springstead

see 19 more questions

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Reviews

HI, These are soooo good.!!! I made them last year. I had about 20 lbs of what we call here " special" cucumbers. They are the really small ones. I made 18 jars. They were gone in less than 8 months. So this year I bought has a bushel!!!! A tip for the pricking of the cukes, use a steel wire painter's brush ( a new one:) ) to roll the small cucumber on instead of using a fork. Make sure you wear gloves when you do it. those bristles will hurt your hands. The taste of this recipe is so worth the effort and time. I followed the recipe and steps pretty closely and all of my batches (3 of them) turned out great. Cruchy pickles, clear liquid. Happy canning.

Julie G.

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I tried this recipe with a tiny batch of homegrown cukes. I couldn't get my act together to do all the water changes, syrup changes on time. I let them sit 24 hours or even a day and a half at each step and it didn't affect the final flavor. Am trying another small batch and will try to stay closer the timing in the recipe to see if that affects the texture. I suspect it won't. These taste and have very similar texture to store bought gherkins if you use both the fennel and vanilla.

MSPP4769
These are really good, and worth the effort to make them. Definitely add the vanilla and fennel, makes all the difference in the world. I like them with a sandwich, and I usually don't like sweet pickles.

Snicklefritzie
Great flavor my teenage son made me promise not to give them all away like I normally do..I gave four stars instead of five because the small cukes shribbled up and they were the ones recommended. The others were nicely flavored and had a good crunch so on future batches I will use larger instead..BTW I used National pickling cucumbers from my garden thx!!

Anonymous
I was drawn to this recipe by the interesting combination of fennel seeds and vanilla extract in the ingredients. This recipe did not disappoint. The result is a lovely sweet crunchy pickle. Although this recipe took 4 days from start to finish, it was not as bad as that actually sounds. Many of the steps are simple, and take very little time. As an added bonus, my house was filled with a marvelous pickling smell right out of my childhood, which made me smile. I guess the most "fiddley" step was pricking all of the small cucumbers with a fork. These will get me through the winter along side a grilled cheese sandwich or next to a rustic pate. Thanks for a great recipe Jockey.

Chef Regina V. Smith

see 9 more reviews

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Tweaks

Save yourself a ton of time with this awesome trick... Get a small soft stainless steel or brass brush and just roll the pickles over the brush with enough pressure to puncture the surface. This is must faster than the fork pricking method. You could do 5 quarts in no time.
Kyle v.