Bread and Butter Pickles

Photo Credit
Sam Jones/Quinn Brein
The Editors
Yield
About 8 pints or 4 quarters
Category
Pickles and Preserves
Course
Other
Preparation Method
Boil

Bread and butter pickles, a beloved staple, offer a sweet and tangy twist to any meal. Whether enjoyed straight from the jar, layered in a sandwich, or paired with charcuterie, bread and butter pickles add a delightful burst of flavor to any dish.

This recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles is very simple and easy to make. Make some extra and give them away as gifts!

“Bread and Butter” pickles got their name from Omar and Cara Fanning in the 1920s. The Fanning family made a living by growing vegetables—mainly cucumbers—and during a particularly poor growing season, Mr. Fanning decided to use the meager cucumbers he harvested to make an old family recipe for sweet and sour pickle chips. Mrs. Fanning was able to trade these pickles for things she needed at the local grocer, including bread and butter. 

Here are a few pickling tips:

  • Use “pickling” cucumber varieties from your garden or farmers’ markets—no waxy grocery store types. Learn more about how to grow cucumbers at home.
  • Look for uniform sizes to make it easier to put pickles in jars. Smaller and firmer is better.
  • If you’re growing cucumbers, pickle as soon as possible after picking, preferably in the morning. If you can’t pickle right away, soak fresh cucumbers in a tub of ice water for at least 30 minutes or store overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Cut off the blossom end (bottom) of the cucumber (at least 1/16 inch) before pickling to avoid bitterness and mushy pickles.

See our complete How to Pickle Guide for more tips, techniques, and recipes!

This recipe is adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, Guide 6 Preparing and Canning Fermented Foods and Pickled Vegetables.

Ingredients
12 cups sliced pickling cucumbers (about 6 lbs. of 4- to 5-inch cukes)
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
4 cups pure white vinegar (5% acidity)
4-1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp mustard seed
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1-1/2 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon ground turmeric (optional)
1 tablespoon Picking Crisp (TM)
Instructions

1. Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom end and discard. Cut into 1/16-inch slices. 
2. Combine cucumbers and onions in a large non-metallic bowl. Add ½ cup canning salt. Cover with 2 inches crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, adding more ice as needed. 
3. Combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, cloves, celery seed, ground turmeric and pickling crisp™ into a large stainless-steel pot that will also hold the cucumber and onion slices. Bring to the vinegar and spices to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. 
4. Drain the cucumbers and onions and add slowly to the vinegar. Reheat to boiling. 
5. Fill hot pint jars with the cucumber and onion slices and the cooking syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. 
5. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed with vinegar that has been heated to boiling in a microwave oven. 
6. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Variation: Squash bread-and-butter pickles. Substitute slender (1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter) zucchini or yellow summer squash for cucumbers. 

About The Author

The Old Farmer's Editors

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Comments

Hi, Karen. You should add 20 minutes to the water bath time.

James D Mort (not verified)

6 years 4 months ago

This recipe sounds great as we are avoiding using lime. But how long do you process them? Do you put the jars in a canner and boil them? And for how long? We want to keep these through the year. Our garden is producing cukes so we have plenty! Thanks.

Hi, James. You can process these pickles in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

MARISA L STONE (not verified)

7 years 3 months ago

I canned pickles this weekend and I only used the dishwasher to sanitize the jars and in some of them the pickles are not entirely covered. It is save to re-can the ones that are not cover or should I just put them in the fridge for immediate use?

The brine should always entirely cover the vegetables to limit exposure to oxygen. Can you top them off with some newly made brine and re-process? Otherwise, put them in the fridge and eat them soon.

Caralee (not verified)

7 years 3 months ago

Is there any way to make sweet pickles without brining if I don't want to thinly slice them?

Louise (not verified)

7 years 4 months ago

Put in fridge after covering with ice?

Linda Hedden (not verified)

8 years 1 month ago

I would like to know what types of vegetables to plant and about how long of a growing season.