Quick Sweet & Sour Turmeric Pickles

Quick Sweet & Sour Turmeric Pickles

Make the most of your abundant Cucumber harvest with these delicious, quick, and easy refrigerator pickles. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and the Apple Cider Vinegar has anti-microbial properties and anti-oxidants. These quick pickles are great for adding to sandwiches, salads, burgers, and of course a cheese platter!

refrigerator pickles

Quick Sweet & Sour Turmeric Pickles

Yield: 2 jars
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Additional Time: 2 days
Total Time: 2 days 13 minutes

Sweet and sour Refridgerator pickles are so quick and easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 2-3 Medium Cucumbers or two jars of whole small pickling Cucumbers
  • 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 TBSP Mustard Seeds
  • 2 TBSP Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp ground Turmeric powder

Instructions

  1. Sterilise your jars by heating them in the oven face down at 120degrees Celsius or in the dishwasher on high heat. Sterilise the lids in a bowl by pouring boiling water on them.
  2. In a saucepan add your vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, salt, and mustard seeds (*optional chili flakes see notes) and bring to a simmer.
  3. Slice your Cucumbers into spears or round slices and place them in the clean jar.
  4. Pour over your pickling liquid and secure the lid. Carefully place the jar upside down to cool. This helps create a secure seal.
  5. Once the jars are close to room temperature, turn them up the right way and add them to the refrigerator.
  6. They will be ready to eat after 48 hours and use within a month or two.

Notes

Add sliced Red Onion, Dill, or Chilli flakes to your cucumber pickles for extra flavour.

This recipe also works with Zucchini in replace of Cucumbers too.

Cucumber

Cucumber

cucumbers

Plant of The Month Info Card

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a delicious and refreshing summer crop that are easy to grow and produce an abundance of food on a single plant. Cucumber can also be grown in pots or grow bags, so they make a fantastic high-yield option for urban gardens. 

Cucumber is light, fresh, and great for pickling or eating fresh in salads. The great thing about growing Cucumbers is that you will have more than enough to preserve, gift, swap, or trade. 

SOW

Spring and Summer.

SOIL

Rich compost and well-drained soil.

LOCATION

Full – part sun. Protection from harsh midday sun can help.

CARE

Water at the base to prevent mildew on the leaves.

FERTILISE

Feed every 2-3 weeks with liquid seaweed fertiliser.

PESTS

Mildew in humid climates. Rodents may attack the fruit.

HARVEST

Spring and Summer. Usually around 7-weeks after planting.

REPRODUCE

Save seeds from your best Cucumber at maturity.

cucumber

Why Grow Cucumber?

Cucumber is quick-growing and can be pickled and preserved to use throughout the year. Cucumber is a great base crop to grow, allowing you to create more meals straight from your garden.

Here are some of the many reasons to grow Cucumber:

  • Easy to grow
  • Prolific production on each plant
  • High in Vitamin C & K
  • Rich in Antioxidants
  • Can promote healthy digestion
  • Hydrating food source
  • Make quick pickles and salsas
  • Cool, calm and reduce skin inflammation
  • Generous crops for gifting, swapping, or trading
  • The whole plant is edible including shoots, stems and leaves

Popular Cucumber Varieties

Marketmore– Popular green variety. Prolific, quick-growing, disease resistant. 15-20cm sized fruit.

Space Master – Compact vine for small spaces. Great for slicing. 20cm green fruit. 30 fruit per plant.

Lebanese Mini – Small mini fruit with edible skin. Great for snacks, salads, and pickles. 40 fruit per plant.

Crystal Apple‘  – Australian heirloom. White apple-sized fruit with citrus flavours.

National Pickling‘ – Small Heirloom variety. Great for pickling, snacks, and salads.

How to Grow Cucumber

Cucumber grows in a vine structure and can be easily trained to grow vertically up a trellis or a teepee structure. It can be a good idea to get the vines up off the ground to improve airflow and reduce disease. Choose a full sun location with at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. Cucumbers can also be grown in pots and containers. Some varieties are more of a bush than a vine but this will say on the packet.

Cucumbers are warm-loving plants and can be damaged by frosts. It may be best to plant your seeds in small pots or seed trays until your last frost has passed. Plant your seeds as per the packet instruction as each variety and climate will have different growing suggestions. Once your seedlings have 4-5 leaves and your likelihood of frosts has passed, plant your seedlings in free-draining soil with plenty of compost.

When to Plant Cucumber

Plant Cucumber during the warmer months of spring and summer. For early crops, you can plant seeds inside in seed trays and plant outside once your last frost has finished.

Care/ Maintenance

Cucumbers like plenty of water so keep the soil moist and hydrated.

Mulch around your plants to protect the soil and retain moisture. Water the Cucumber at the base to avoid getting the leaves wet, as Cucumber can be prone to powdery mildew. Watering in the morning can also help to prevent this, as the leaves will have time to dry out and not sit wet for too long. If you do see white powdery mildew, remove the affected leaves and make up an organic spray with a mix of 9 parts water to 1 part milk. Spray this over the Cucumber leaves. 

It can be beneficial to remove the older leaves at the base of the plant to increase airflow and prevent moisture from sitting around too long. Use sharp and clean secateurs to reduce the spread of any diseases. It can also be helpful to feed your plants with liquid seaweed or garden fertilizer every 2-3 weeks for added nutrition.

Pollination/ Fruiting

Our bees do a fantastic job at pollinating, so planting flowers nearby will help to encourage plenty of pollinators to your garden. Pick your cucumber harvest often to encourage more to grow.

Pests / Disease

Protect young seedlings from slugs, snails and slaters. They can get some fungal diseases in humid weather. It is important not to wet the leaves to prevent powdery mildew from forming. If you do start to see some powdery mildew, remove the leaves (if it is only a few) or create a spray of 1 part milk to 9 parts water and spray over the affected area. Once the fruits start to mature be aware of rodents or other animals finding your harvests.

How/ When to Harvest

Harvest your Cucumber when they are small and often. They will start to go yellow once they are getting too mature and maybe bitter and the seeds inside will be hard.

Cucumber grows very quickly once the plant is established, so you may need to check every day or every other day for new produce. 

The young leaves and tendrils are also edible and can be used in salads and stirfrys. 

Reproducing

Cucumber seeds are the easiest way to reproduce. Let 1-2 of your best-looking Cucumbers grow to maturity (until the skin is yellow). This will be when the seeds are mature and ready to harvest. Wash the flesh off the seeds and allow them to dry before storing it in a cool, dry, dark space. Early in the season, you can also take cuttings from the plant and place them in a jar of water. They will spout roots from the nodules where the leaves were and you can replant.

Cooking and Using Cucumbers

Cucumbers are great for adding to summer salads, refreshing water and of course all the pickles!

Cucumber pairs well with: Citrus, Tomato, Onion, Capsicum, Feta, Eggs, Mint, Yoghurt, Avocado, Corn, Papaya, Pineapple, Basil, Chilli, Chives, Ginger, Strawberry, Dill, Parsley, Sesame Seeds, Soy Sauce

Cucumber ideas:

  • ‘Coodles’ or Cucumber noodles made using a spiraliser. Great for salads.
  • “Cucumber boats” Cut length ways, scoop out the center and fill with tuna or salad.
  • Fresh in salads
  • Fresh in Sushi
  • Frozen in chunks to flavour water
  • Marinated with vinegar and red onion
  • Pickled or fermented
  • Chutney or Relish
  • Tatzki
  • Salsa
  • Replacement for crackers
  • Cold Soups
  • Thin slices for rolls
  • Fresh in sandwiches
  • Kimchi

Preserving the Harvest

Cucumbers produce in huge abundance so it is a good idea to learn some easy ways to preserve your harvests.

  • Chutney and Relish
  • Frozen Slices (great for smoothies or flavoured water)
  • Pickled

Cucumber Posts

Cucumber

Plant of The Month Info Card Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a delicious…

Previous Feature Plants