I found these bendy baby cucumbers at the local farmer’s market. I love their sinuous curves and gorgeous green colour – so much fun to take photos of especially with my junk shop teaspoon collection. Note the beautiful thistles on the ends of some of the spoons. I’d love to know their story… The aniseed, fennel, caraway and tarragon give these pickles a beautiful sweet-sour flavour.
Anise cucumber pickles
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ kg cucumbers
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 1 red onion
- 5 fresh chilis – I used little yellow ones homegrown by my partner Phil
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon aniseed seeds
- 1 teaspoon black pepper corns
- 3 cups white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 3-4 500ml jars
Instructions
Wash and cut the cucumbers into thin slices – sprinkle with salt and allow the liquid to drain in a colander over a large bowl – may take 1-2 or several hours depending on how large the cucumbers are. Smaller ones will make a crunchier pickle as there is less water.
Sterilise jars – see Resources
Make your brine by combining vinegar, water, sugar and turmeric, bring to the boil and stir to dissolve the sugar
Drain the cucumbers thoroughly and then add chopped red onion, fennel, cumin, caraway, mustard, tarragon, aniseed seeds and combine in a large bowl
Add the chilis sliced in two or pierced with a sharp knife to the bottom of the sterilised jars along with the pepper corns
Pack your jars with cucumbers
Remove any air bubbles by gently banging the jar on the work surface and running a butter knife around the outside of the jar
Wipe rims with a clean tea towel and seal with clean lids
Heat process for 10 minutes – see Resources
Can be kept for 12 months
Enjoy with bread, butter and cheese, or on burgers
Notes
Inspired by Bread & butter cucumber pickles Cornersmith: Recipes from the café and picklery (2015: 111). To make the spice blend I referred to the Flavour Thesaurus – anise flavours were recommended for cucumbers – hence the aniseed, fennel and caraway seeds and tarragon. I used Lirah white wine vinegar sourced from Cornersmith.
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