The Best Pickles Yet: English Cucumber Pickle Chips

Today I just made the best homemade pickles ever. The secret? English cucumbers plus a flavorful pickle brine. I just couldn’t pass up blemish-free, organic English cucumbers which I noticed during our most recent shopping trip to Costco’s. Sold in two pound bags, this was a larger quantity that we could possibly eat. Call it an impulse purchase. I have never seen such long cucumbers. I decided that these long, cylinder cucumbers — uniform in size with small seeds — would make perfect pickles. So, here I am making pickles in September. I used a recipe which is sweet and flavorful. These pickles turned out to be crisp and delicious! Holiday presents, perhaps?

Pickles in September

The cucumbers in my Louisiana garden usually ripen in May. That’s also when the best cucumbers are available in farmer’s markets here in the South. So, I usually get out my home canner and do the entire canning process in early sumner. However, I just couldn’t pass up these cucumbers; even for English cucumbers they were straight and long. (Only a home pickler canner would appreciate this fact.) This two pound bag made a small batch of pickles — four pint-size jars;. Very easy for any home chef. I’d suggest that if you have ever wanted to try making homemade pickles; this recipe is the one to try.

Rather than pickle spears — which are cut into lengthwise strips, I cut these cucumbers into crosswise slices to make “pickle chips.” Plus, I added onion slices. These are “bread and butter” style pickles. They are crisp, sweet.

The brine is a flavorful combination of sugar, vinegars and spices. It is just the right balance between sweet and sour. These pickle chips are not “hot”; they have just right amount of spice.

Since my plan was to store these pickles for several months, I got out my home canner once again to process the pickles so I could store them at room temperature. It’s really not that difficult — this is a small batch of pickles yielding four pint-size jars — and I did everything while watching a Monday night football game which rambled along in the background.

However, it is also easy to skip the canning step and store the pickle jars in the refrigerator. In this case, use the pickles withhin a month or two.

Mastronardi Produce of North America

I like to know all about what I am eating and so I researched where these English cucumbers were grown and the story of their producion. I was facinated with my “find.” These English cucumbers are organic; they were grown in a greenhouse in Mexico around Laredo, Texas. They are a product of Mastronardi Produce of North America’s and are packed under the SUNSET® brand. Apparently, flavor matters to the Mastronardi family, and much of their research involves developing produce varieties with superior flavor.

I discovered, according to internet sources, that Mastronardi Produce is “the leading greenhouse grower of gourmet vegetables, including world-class tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers” in North America. The company prides itself on developing vegetables and produce which are both flavorful and high in quality. The size of their greenhouses and company’s operations are staggering, in my opinion. Their greenhouses are now located in eight states across the country, Canada and Mexico totalling over 5,000 acres of greenhouse productive growing capacity  All their produce is organically grown. The process is hydroponic– no soil in their greenhouses! The plants are fed with nutrient-rich water.

The Mastronardi’s are a fourth generation Italian family-owned company and have been in business since the 1940’s. Paul Mastronardi is the currrent CEO. “His great grandfather, Armando Mastronardi, immigrated to North America in the 1920s and purchased his own farm in Leamington, Ontario. In the 1940s, Paul’s grandfather, Umberto Mastronardi, traveled to Holland and brought the knowledge of greenhouse technology back with him, where he then built the first commercial greenhouse in North America.” (see references) This family business hasn’t stopped expanding. The company conducts research which has resulted in better varieties of tomtaoes, cucumbers, strawberries and other produce. They are developing sustainable greenhouse growing practices. Will all our produce be grown this way one day???

How do the Mastronardi’s cucumbers rate? I’m about to find out as I make my small batch of “pickle chips.”

English Cucumbers

One of the vegetables which Grandfather Mastronardi researched in Holland in the 1940’s was the English cucumber. He brought back seeds for these cucumbers from Holland and further refined the cucumbers here. The English cucumbers which I purchased at Costco’s were the longest cucumbers that I’ve ever seen — about 18″ in length. They were stragiht and firm, without “bumps” on the skin. The seeds were small (important for pickles).

Recipe

In addition to the cucumber slices, I added onion slices and garlic to the jars. I love pickled onions; especially when combined with this wonderful pickling brine. Plus, garlic. Yum.

Pickling Brine

The pickling brine defines the flavor of the “cured” pickles. I decided to use a brine which was sweet and flavorful with traditional spices to make “bread and butter” style pickles.

The spices in my recipe are mustard seed, celery seed, mustard powder and a bit of coriander seed. The coriander gives hint of an anise flavor. The mustard powder gives a little “bite.” However, I omitted tumeric which is often included in “bread and butter” pickle recipes. (It imparts a yellow color.) Blending spices for pickles and chutneys involves creativity and the spices which you select depend upon the flavors that you want to achieve. For example, my “Spicy Christmas Chutney” included cinnamon, ginger and cayenne pepper. The current pickle recipe is just a nice middle-of-the-road spice blend for “bread and butter” pickles.

Here we go: Get the supplies ready

Since my plan was to process these pickles in a home canner, I got the supplies ready first. It can take half an hour or more for a large canner full of water to boil. Start early — fill the canner up with water andI bring water to a boil on the stove. Then just let the canner sit on a back burner while you get the cucumbers ready to process. I also got the canning jars ready ahead of time — by washing and then sterilizing them in the dishwasher on a rinse cycle, “hot” drying cycle. I recommend getting canning jars specifically made for this job — you know the lids fit and the jars are less likely to crack while processing in boiling water. I got brand new seals and rings sterilized and ready to go

Making the pickles: After getting the supplies and canning jars ready, the rest is easy.

Step one: First, get the cucumbers and onions ready. Cut off both ends of each cucumber. Enzymes in the blossom end can make the pickles soft and the stem end can be bitter (in my experience). Slice the cucumber and onions into thin slices.

Let the cucumber and onion slices “steep” in a brine made of pickling salt and ice water for two hours to help the cucumbers “crisp.” (Plckling salt is very similar to Kosher salt.) Drain and rinse the cucumbers and onions. Drain again.

Step two: Make the pickles

This pickling brine fills the kitchen with a wonderful aroma!!

Step three. Fill the sterilized jars with the pickles, onions and brine.

Wipe off the tops of the jars with a damp paper towel to remove any debris.

Step four: Process the jars in the Presto canner in boiling water for 5 minutes. (If you are making refrigerator pickles — boil them for 5 minutes rather than 3 minutes. Fill the jars and skip step 4; let cool — the jars are hot! — and store in refrigerator.)

Lower into the jars into the canner filled with hot, boiling water. Place the lid on the canner, loosely. The jars should not touch each other and the water in the canner should cover the jars by 1 – 2 inches. (Make sure to have the rack in the bottom of the canner.) Bring water back to a rolling boil — one where bubbles rapidly come to the top of the water. Process for 5 minutes.

Step five: We are done!

Carefully remove the jars from the canner water bath and transfer to a tray lined with a cloth kitchen towel to cool. Why a kitchen towel? The jars are wet. Check the seals. Date and label. If sealed properly, store at room temperature. Otherwise, store in the refrigerator.

It is best to let these pickles (or really any home prepared pickles) “cure” for about two weeks before using the pickles. The flavor develops fully. It is hard to wait — but it definately makes a difference. Patience!

How do I rate Grandfather Mastronardi’s English cucumbers for making pickles? These pickles are delicious! They are mild and sweet, crisp with good flavor. They will make great holiday gifts.

Just a note here about English cucumbers. With greenhouses and hydroponic-grown cucumbers, the season for fresh, ripe cucumbers is greatly extended. Costco’s purchases their inventory in bulk — which allows them to sell it at lower prices. When that item is sold out, many times it is not replaced. I would be surprised if found these same cucumbers at Costco’s in December. Luckily, you can purchase English cucumbers from many other sources. Just make sure the cucumbers are a good quality!

Enjoy this recipe. This pickle recipe is one of my best ones yet! It is a variation on my mother’s “Bread and Butter Pickles” which we loved so much when growing up.

For all my “Home Canning and Preserving” projects, here’s a link to my Recipe Page:

Home Preserving and Canning

References:

https://www.greenhousegrower.com/crops/how-mastronardi-produce-became-pioneers-of-high-tech-vegetable-growing/

https://m.andnowuknow.com/company/mastronardi-producer-sunsetr

https://www.greenhousegrower.com/crops/how-mastronardi-produce-became-pioneers-of-high-tech-vegetable-growing/