Name: Sweet and Half-Sour Pickles
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 20 small cucumbers (Lebanese); 2 tsp mustard seeds; 2 tsp black peppercorn; 2 tsp coriander seeds; 6 cloves of garlic (peeled); 4 red chillies; 1 bunch of dill; For the brine:; 125g Sea salt; 125g caster sugar; 500 ml white wine vinegar; 500 ml water

Sweet and Half-Sour Pickles

17 Jan 2018

by Dinna

Prep Time

15 minutes

Total Time

15 minutes

Background

Half soars are traditional Jewish crispy dill pickles, made with 3.5% salt solution (which is the salinity of seawater.) They're called “half soar” because they are kept in the brine for a shorter time so the cucumber is still crispy and bright green. These Sweet and Sour Pickles are similar to traditional half-soars, although I added some vinegar & sugar to the salt brine, and spiced it up with some chillies. They are ideal for burgers, salads or on top of nibbles.

Ingredients

20 small cucumbers (Lebanese)
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp black peppercorn
2 tsp coriander seeds
6 cloves of garlic (peeled)
4 red chillies
1 bunch of dill
For the brine:
125g Sea salt
125g caster sugar
500 ml white wine vinegar
500 ml water

Instructions

Sterilise 2 medium-large jars. Equally divide the garlic, mustard & coriander seeds, between them.
Rinse the cucumbers and place them tightly in the jars, on top of the seeds. Tuck the dill and chillies between them.
In a glass jug, mix the water, salt and sugar, then stir to dissolve. Pour this over the cucumbers, covering them completely.
Cover the jars with their lids and chill them in the fridge for a week before eating.
Keep refrigerated.