Gluten Free Pickling - Pickled Okra and Cucumber Pickles

Cucumber pickles and pickled okra

Episode 3 of preserving our garden bounty is pickling!! I think it might be a girl thing, but I just love pickles!!! Brian was never a big fan but he recently got into them a bit more. I think our homemade pickled okra and cucumber pickles definitely turned him into a greater appreciator of pickles.

And for those of you who are gluten free, you may find yourself frustrated that some pickling recipes use malt or grain vinegar. We made ours with gluten free vinegars and they turned our delicious. Gluten free vinegars you could try are apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and distilled vinegar.

Pickling is a great way to save your overflow of summer cucumbers and a delicious way to eat okra. This recipe is for pickles that you would keep in the fridge - not for pickles that you want to preserve in the pantry for months to come. The extra step to make the latter possible would be to heat the whole sealed jar after you prepare your pickles. You can find a guide to long shelf life pickling here. But if your household is anything like ours and eats everything super fast anyway, or if you just want a crispy cold treat sooner than later, follow this recipe below for pickling cucumbers or okra.

Simple Gluten Free Pickling Recipe for Cucumbers or Okra

You'll need about 4 pint sized mason jars for this recipe or you can scale it to the size of your garden bounty.

Ingredients
Enough okra/sliced cucumbers to fill the jars
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups water
3 tablespoons salt
1 tbs sugar
8 cloves of peeled garlic
4 chili peppers
8 bunches of dill flowers
2 tablespoons of pickling spice (blend of black peppercorns, cloves, allspice, dill seeds, bay leaves, coriander seeds, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon)

1. First, sterilize your jars and lids. You can run them through the sanitize cycle of your dish washer or clean them in a large pot of boiling water. Set the jars out to dry while you prepare the rest. 


2. Choose fresh, firm cucumbers and/or okra. Clean them well and then slice the cucumbers to your desired shape (little circles or spears or sandwich slices etc). 


3. Pour the vinegar, water and salt in a large pot and bring to a rolling simmer. 


4. Put the spices in the bottoms of each jar and pack in the cucumber or okra, leaving 1/2 inch head space. 


5. Cover the cucumbers/okra with the warm brine. 


6. Seal the lids on and bring to room temperature. Then refirgerate your pickles for 24-48 hours. 

These pickles should be stored in the refrigerator, but luckily that also means you are allowed to eat them sooner :)

We also tried this method with chopped cabbage and jalapenos with much crunchy delicious success!

Featured on Monday Mania and Real Food Wednesdays and The Kings Court IV: What's Cooking Wednesdays and GNOWFGLINS Simple Lives Thursdays and the Nourishing Gourmet Pennywise Platter

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