Honey Spears
Submitted by VanDam
Honey spear pickles with cucumbers and onions brined overnight, then canned in a sweet honey-vinegar syrup with mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric. A golden, sweet-tangy refrigerator or canning pickle.
YIELD
5 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
15 minREADY
8 hrsThese honey pickles swap sugar for a full 2 cups of honey in the canning brine, giving the cucumber spears a rounded, floral sweetness that white sugar can’t match. Mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric tint the brine golden and add warm, earthy spice.
The process starts the night before. Sliced cucumber spears and onions soak overnight in salted water. This brine draws moisture out of the cucumbers, firming them so they stay crunchy after canning instead of turning limp and waterlogged.
Use pickling salt, not table salt. Table salt contains anti-caking agents that cloud the brine. Pickling salt dissolves cleanly and keeps the liquid crystal clear in the jar.
The honey-vinegar syrup cooks for just 5 minutes before the cucumbers and onions go in, then everything heats to a boil and gets ladled into sterilized jars. Ten minutes in a boiling water bath seals them for shelf storage.
Chef Tips
- Use ripe cucumbers, not small pickling cukes. These are full-sized cucumbers halved, seeded, and cut into spears.
- Leave ⅛ inch headspace in each jar. Too little and the lids won’t seal. Too much and excess air causes discoloration.
- Make sure boiling water covers the jars by at least 1 inch during processing. Start the timer only after the water returns to a full boil.
- Wait at least 2 weeks before opening. The honey flavor develops and mellows over time.
Variations
- Hot honey spears: Add 1 sliced jalapeño to each jar before sealing for a sweet-hot pickle.
- Dill honey: Add a fresh dill head and 2 garlic cloves to each jar for a honey-dill variation.
- Quick refrigerator version: Skip the water bath processing and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the cucumbers and slice in half.
Scoop out the seeds.
Slice the cucumbers into spears.
Peel and slice the onions.
Combine salt and 1 gallon water in a large glass, ceramic or stainless steel bowl.
Add the cucumbers and onions and soak overnight.
Sterilize 5 to 1 pint jars and lids.
Drain cucumber-onion mixture.
Combine vinegar, one cup water, honey, mustard seed, celery seed and tumeric in dutch oven.
Cook 5 minutes.
Add cucumber-onion mixture, heat to boiling.
Ladle into hot, sterilized jars, leaving ⅛ inch headspace, and seal.
Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
NOTE: When processing, make sure that the level of boiling water is at least 1 inch above the jar tops.
Begin timing when the water returns to a boil.
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