¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90 ml) distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
5 whole juniper berries
3 whole allspice berries
3 cloves garlic, peeled
7-10 Kirby cucumbers (also called Pickling cucumbers) cucumbers (about 625 to 675 g), washed and ends slightly trimmed
½ oz (15 g) fresh dill leaves (on the stem), rinsed (optional; this not only increases the dill flavor, but is also there for looks)
1 teaspoon dill seed (see note below)
Purified water, as necessary
Instructions
Add 1¾ cups water, the vinegar, and the salt to a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt, and then turn off heat. Add the peppercorns, juniper berries, and allspice berries and cool to room temperature. (Or for less pronounced flavors, add the spices to the liquid once it’s already cooled.)
Meanwhile, sterilize a 1-liter glass jar.
Cut the cucumbers into spears by cutting them in half lengthwise, and then cutting each half lengthwise into 2 or 3 equal pieces, depending how large you like your pickles.
Put 2 cloves of garlic in the bottom of the jar. Add the cucumber spears and fresh dill (if using), and then add the remaining garlic and the dill seed on top.
Pour in the vinegar mixture (with the spices), then add enough purified water so that the cucumbers are completely covered, leaving about 1 inch of free space at the top.
Cover the jar and store refrigerated for 48 hours before eating. Stored in the fridge, these pickles will keep for up to a couple weeks.
Notes
Dill Seed: I took pictures of the first batch of pickles that I made, but they didn’t have dill seed. Everyone said they could use more dill flavor, so for the next batch I made, I added 1 teaspoon of dill seed and everyone said they were perfect. The recipe here is the final updated version, but the photos are of the pickles without dill seed added.
Recipe by An Edible Mosaic™ at https://www.anediblemosaic.com/garlic-dill-quick-refrigerator-pickles-small-batch/