1,509 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

Pickled gherkins

Preparing your own gherkins in vinegar is quite straightforward, if you know how to avoid a few pitfalls. Here's a recipe which works every time.

781 K 7× 3.5/5 (257 reviews)

4 hours 40 min. difficulté

Easy

3.40 €

500 g

5 Ingredients

Last modified on: August 21^th 2013

For this recipe: I want to make it (594×) I made it (660×) Comment Send to a friend Ask a question Follow Printable Diaporama Vidéo

For 500 g, you will need:

1 500 g fresh gherkins
2 300 g coarse salt
3 1 sprig tarragon
4 pepper
5 300 ml white (spirit) vinegar
Total weight: 1,100 grams

Change these quantities to make:

250 g 500 g 1 kg 1 kg 500 g

Change measures:

Metric

Metric weight Metric volumes

Times for this recipe

Preparation: 40 min.

Resting: 4 hours

All in all: 4 hours 40 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time

To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 5 min.

Wash the 500 g fresh gherkins thoroughly.

Stage 2 - 10 min.

Brush each gherkin under running water to remove all the little "bristles" and give it a smooth surface.

Stage 3

If you don't have a suitable brush, or if you prefer, you can use my grandmother Jeanne's method: rub them with the corner of a tea-towel.

Stage 4 - 5 min.

Cut off any remaining stalks from the gherkins.

Stage 5 - 5 min.

Rinse again, then dry with a tea-towel.

Stage 6 - 3 hours

Put the gherkins in a bowl with 300 g coarse salt for 3 hours to draw off some of the juice.

Note: contarary to popular belief, there is no need to soak them any longer than this, as they will start to dry out.

Stage 7 - 5 min.

After this time, discard the salty water and rinse the gherkins...

Stage 8 - 1 hour

...and soak them for 1 hour in a bowl of cold water. We do this so that the gherkins will not be too salty.

After one hour, drain the gherkins and dry them on a tea-towel.

Stage 9 - 1 min.

Pour 1 sprig tarragon and a few peppercorns into the bottom of the jar you are going to use.

Stage 10 - 5 min.

Fill the jar with gherkins and cover with cold white vinegar (there's no need to boil or even heat it).

Seal the lid and leave to mature for a month before eating.

Remarks

You can use a different vinegar if you prefer, but if you do not use white vinegar, your gherkins may take on an unusual colour.

Keeping: Several months.

Source: According to the lady on the market who sold me gherkins.

Nutritional information

	Proteins (gr)	Carbohydrates (gr)	Fats (gr)	Energy value (in k-calories)	Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe	5 RDI=2 %	10 RDI=1 %	0	70 RDI=3 %	290 RDI: 3 %
Per 100 g	0	1 RDI=0 %	0	6 RDI=0 %	30 RDI: 0 %

The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man

Possible allergens in this recipe: Sulfites

How much will it cost?

For 500 g : 3.40 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

This recipe uses (among others)

Other recipes you may also like

Vanilla sugar

Almost essential in patisserie, you can find it in expensive little sachets of about 10g. It's necessary to distinguish between the vanilla sugar which really contains vanilla, and vanillin sugar, purely chemical which has never seen a vanilla pod. Here is how to quickly make a whole jar full of...
August 12^th 2018427 K 15 30 min.

Breton galettes (pancakes)

Of uniquely Breton origin, this is a buckwheat pancake on which you cook an egg with ham and cheese before folding it over. Easy and quick to make, it's an ideal answer to the question "what are we going to eat this evening?".
February 21^th 2011223 K 23.9 20 min.

Poached eggs

Poached eggs are cooked, without the shell, in barely simmering (nearly boiling) water. White should be firm and yolk soft, that's the difficulty. This recipe teaches you how to succeed with three important points.
January 8^th 2013320 K5 2 hours 40 min.

Rabbit with mustard

This recipe uses boned rabbit. This is sautéed in mustard then cooked in the oven. It is served with broad beans, bacon and mushrooms, and a sauce made with reduced white wine.
May 15^th 2011195 K4.9 2 hours 9 min.

Sausage buckwheat pancakes

This sausage pancake recipe is one of the better-known ways of using buckwheat pancakes. You will find it on the menu of all good French crêperies, but it is easy to make at home.
February 26^th 2012133 K4.5 1 hour 30 min.

News list of cooking-ez.com

Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.

The 7 comments already posted on this recipe

As you read it in the recipe: At your choice, white vinegar => classical gherkins, other vinegars (red wine vinegar for example) gherkins with unusual colour, but still goods.
Posted by jh august 4^th 2017 at 18:28 n° 7
Your instructions specifically say to use white vinegar, but then right below it u say you can use a different vinegar if we'd like, but don't use white vinegar because it leaves and unusual color....? Which one is it?? White or not white?
Posted by Julie august 4^th 2017 at 16:50 n° 6
I had been looking for an uncomplicated recipe for pickled gherkins. Great thing here is that it seems the most sensible and gets straight to the point without having to read lots of twaddle!
Posted by Frederick july 3^rd 2015 at 18:48 n° 5
Sorry, I don't know how to.
My skill in garden work is close to zero :-(
Posted by jh january 14^th 2015 at 09:19 n° 4
Thank you for the instructions. I have just bought gherkin seeds for this year's summer, but did not know how to pickle them.
I am looking forward to harvesting and pickling my own gherkins!
Posted by Fumiko from Japan january 14^th 2015 at 08:37 n° 3
I always leave them whole, because they are small and don't need to be cut.
But if you use big one, I think (but not totally sure) that you can cut them in pieces.
Posted by jh october 20^th 2014 at 10:25 n° 2
Can the gherkins be sliced before putting them into the jar or would you recommend leaving them whole?
Posted by Kirstie-G october 19^th 2014 at 12:48 n° 1

Follow this recipe (as 40 people already do)

If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.