I Did Play with Fabric!

Although I played with fabric and the Civil War blocks, nary a stitch was sewn yesterday.  However, I took the cucumbers I purchased at the farmers market Saturday and made...

...bread and butter pickles!

Talking with a couple of friends about making these, they stated that they did not like "sweet" pickles.  

"Do you mean like... sweet gherkins?"

"Oh yes... those are just too too sweet!"

"Have you have had a bread and butter pickle?"

"Aren't those the same as sweet gherkins?"

"Uh... no, they're not."

"What's the difference then?"

To me, bread and butter pickles are thinly sliced, small pickling cucumbers (as opposed to "eating cucumbers"... although I eat pickling cucumbers raw too), which are pickled with onions, cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, tumeric and other spices.  I like to add red pepper flakes for a little kick.

Some bread and butter pickles are sliced more thinly than I do, which makes them great to put on sandwiches.  I like bread and butter pickles "on the side" so slice them 1/4" thick....  still thin enough to put on a sandwich if you like.

They are sweet, yes... but not as nearly as sugary as sweet gherkins.  Bread and butter pickles definitely have that cider vinegar twang with a hint of mustard and a bit of a zing from the red pepper flakes.

Is that what you think of as bread and butter pickles?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recipe:  Easy Bread and Butter Pickles