Pickled Watermelon Cucumbers
I love cucumbers. And I’m not partial. I’ll eat English cucumbers, Persian, Japanese… it doesn’t matter. They’re delicious with the skins on or peeled off. I’ll eat them straight or in salads. And my sons, they love them too. As a matter of fact, whenever A sees me chopping one up he asks if he can have some. But in all my years eating cucumbers I’ve never seen Watermelon Cucumbers. Not until Melissa’s Produce sent me some.
Aren’t they cute? And they’re just as yummy as they look. No, they’re not as sweet as watermelons but their tart, lemony flavor makes them the perfect addition to a salad. You could even pop them into your mouth and eat them as a snack all by themselves. But I decided to pickle them. It was that lemony flavor that made me think they’d be great pickles, especially if I added garlic. A lot of garlic.
The spice of the garlic combined with the lemony flavor of these little cucumbers makes for one hell of a pickle. Like the cucumbers on their own, they’re great eaten all by themselves or with a sandwich or as part of a wonderful antipasto platter. There’s really only one catch to these pickles: you have to wait for them to… well… pickle. But if you can wait one little week, you’re in for a wonderful, delicious treat.
Pickled Watermelon Cucumbers
Ingredients:
- 2 (6 oz.) packages of Watermelon Cucumbers
- 2 quarts of water
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup Kosher salt (make sure it’s fully dissolved)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped
- 1 head of garlic, chopped and whole cloves
Directions:
- Boil a 3-1/2 pint mason jar in water to sterilize it. Dry it off and set it aside.
- Combine the water, vinegars, salt and pepper in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring until the salt fully dissolves.
- Place the cucumbers, dill and half the garlic into a 3-1/2 pint mason jar.
- Pour in the hot brine until the cucumbers are completely covered. Make sure you leave a 1/2-inch of space between the top of the brine and the rim of the jar. Add the rest of the garlic. Apply the lids and bands.
- Allow the jars to cool to room temperature and place in the refrigerator. Wait at least 4 days before indulging, but the longer you let the cucumbers pickle, the better they’ll be. (I usually wait a week.)
Jennifer, I love this — what a perfect recipe for these adorable, delicious cucumbers!
Thanks. It was seeing your and My Man’s Belly’s pictures on Facebook that made me want to try them. Then once I did, pickles seemed like the perfect choice.
Thanks for introducing me to watermelon cucumbers! Ooh, the possibilities x
Glad to. Can’t wait to hear how you use these cuties.
I’ve never heard of them by this name… they look suspiciously like climbing cucumber (which is a native wild plant here in Ga.) and I’ve never done anything with then except snack on them in the yard… but maybe I’ll have to try a pickle@!
If you can send me a picture of the climbing cucumber that’d be great. I love all cucumbers and am willing to try and any and all types.