Refrigerator Sweet Pickles


These refrigerator sweet pickles are an easy homemade Scandinavian-style pickle. Simple to toss together, sweet as can be, and crisp as your favorite pickles from childhood. And there’s no hot-processing canning required as these simply stay in the fridge.

This Scandinavian pickle is fresh and fragrant. Perfumed with fresh dill, which is so prevalent in Nordic cuisine, it is superb eaten with salmon, smoked fish, rillettes, and cheese—an extremely handy standby to have in the fridge. So simple they don’t even require turning on the stove.–Charlotte Pike

WHAT ARE REFRIGERATOR PICKLES?

Sometimes, you want your pickles as soon as possible. Or you’re just not into the fussiness that’s involved with true preserving. Refrigerator pickles are like regular pickles except you don’t have to sterilize jars, or process the full jars in boiling water, or wait for the lids to seal. In this version, you just mix the ingredients together and hide them in your fridge for a few days, or even hours. There’s no need for them to be canned since they’re kept in a refrigerated environment. Same taste. Less work.

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

A jar of refrigerator sweet pickles with a fork holding two pickles lying beside the jar.

These refrigerator sweet pickles are an easy homemade Scandinavian-style pickle. Simple to toss together, sweet as can be, and crisp as your favorite pickles from childhood. And there’s no hot-processing canning required as these simply stay in the fridge.

Charlotte Pike

Prep 15 mins

Chill 6 hrs

Total 6 hrs 15 mins

  • Thinly slice the cucumbers, using a mandoline or handheld slicer if you have one.
  • Layer the cucumbers, onion, and dill in the jar(s).
  • If you’re a laid back sort of home cook, simply pour the vinegar, sugar, and salt into the jar(s), screw on the lid, and shake well until the sugar begins to dissolve. It won’t completely dissolve and that’s okay. If you’re a sorta precise, take-no-chances sort of home cook, stir together the sugar, vinegar, and salt in a large measuring glass or bowl until the sugar begins to dissolve. It won’t completely dissolve and that’s okay. Pour the mixture into the jar(s) and screw on the lid.
  • Stash the jar(s) of pickles in the fridge for up to 1 month—but we bet they won’t last nearly that long. You can try them as soon as 6 hours if you’re the impatient sort although the longer the pickles remain in the fridge, the more intense the flavor.

    We found around 3 or 5 days to be the optimal waiting period before diving into your jar of pickles. By this time the dill will have mellowed, the sweetness remains noticeable, and the crunch remains pronounced.

Serving: 2tablespoonsCalories: 17kcal (1%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 1g (2%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 37mg (2%)Potassium: 20mg (1%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 16IUVitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 2mgIron: 1mg (6%)

Originally published September 1, 2016

Recipe © 2015 Charlotte Pike. Photo © 2021 David Leite. All rights reserved. All materials used with permission.

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