Bread and Butter Pickles....

I've been picking loads of cucumbers lately and what better way to use the bulk of them up then by making bread and butter pickles....

The recipe I used was from a really old 'commonsense' type cookbook that no longer has a cover. It's my 'go to' for all the old favourite recipes that are sometimes hard to find like golden syrup dumplings, tomato sauce, lemon butter, pumpkin scones, etc...

The beauty about these pickles is that you don't have to rest them, you can start munching on them as soon as they are cooled... They turn a heavenly shade of yellow once cooked thanks to the turmeric in the recipe, just take a look.....

I love munching on these especially on savory crackers with a nice sharp cheese, yum-mo!!!!

The pickling juices that I had left at the end I bottled as-well, it makes a delicious salad dressing once cooled...
With a Xmas party on the cards tonight I've dressed up a couple of the jars of pickles to give the host as a thank you gift.....

Teamed up with some melt in your mouth shortbread (stay tuned for the delicious and SOOO simple recipe tomorrow) and I'm sure they'll be a hit... ;)

Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe...

ingredients : : 2kg green cucumbers thinly sliced, 500g red onions finely sliced, 3 cups white vinegar, 3 cups white sugar, 1 heaped Tablespoon mustard seeds, I heaped Tablespoon of chopped fresh celery leaves, 2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 teaspoon crushed chillies, 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper, salt.

method : : put cucumbers and onions into a bowl and sprinkle a big handful of salt (approx 1/4 a cup) over the top, let this stand for a good 3 hours. Wash and drain well....

Boil vinegar, sugar and other ingredients for 5 mins or until sugar is dissolved. Turn down the heat and add cucumbers and onions, heat well but do not boil. Spoon cucumbers and onions into hot sterilized jars, top with pickling juices and seal.

Will make approx 2 litres of pickles.