Hot pickles are delicious, but it’s not easy to find them in most grocery stores. That’s why we want to show you how to make hot pickles from store-bought pickles so you can have them anytime you crave them.
How to Make Hot Pickles from Store-Bought Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 jars of whole pickles (large size)
- 5 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce
- 3 to 4 cups of sugar (decrease or increase according to taste)
- 2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon of dehydrated minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar
- Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Remove the whole dill pickles from their jars and save the pickle juice in a container.
- Cut the pickles into half-inch thick slices and place them into a bowl.
- Add the crushed red pepper, dehydrated minced garlic, sugar, white distilled vinegar, and a splash of Tabasco sauce into the bowl.
- Stir the mixture very gently without damaging the pickle slices. Using your hands is the best way to mix.
- Leave the mixture for about 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. Don’t forget to stir the mixture every 20 minutes or so.
- After two to three hours, you’ll need to stir the mixture for the last time and start transferring it to jars. Make sure that the jars you use are properly cleaned and free of moisture.
- Now, transfer the jars to your refrigerator and let the pickles rest there for about 3 to 5 days. During this time, the pickles will create the homemade hot pickle taste that you crave.
How to Make Hot Pickles from Store Bought Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 Jars of whole pickles large size
- 5 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce
- 3 to 4 cups of sugar decrease or increase according to taste
- 2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon of dehydrated minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar
- Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Remove the whole dill pickles from their jars and save the pickle juice in a container.
- Cut the pickles into half-inch thick slices and place them into a bowl.
- Add the crushed red pepper, dehydrated minced garlic, sugar, white distilled vinegar, and a splash of tabasco sauce into the bowl.
- Stir the mixture very gently without damaging the pickle slices. Using your hands is the best way to mix.
- Leave the mixture for about 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. Don’t forget to stir the mixture every 20 minutes or so.
- After two to three hours, you’ll need to stir the mixture for the last time and start transferring it to jars. Make sure that the jars you use are properly cleaned and free of moisture.
- Now, transfer the jars to your refrigerator and let the pickles rest there for about 3 to 5 days. During this time the pickles will create the homemade hot pickle taste that you crave.
Tips on How to Make Hot Pickles from Store-Bought Pickles
- You’ll need to slice the pickles no thicker than half an inch so they can absorb all the flavors of the additional ingredients.
- You can eat the pickles after they have been in the refrigerator for 24 hours, but the taste won’t be as rich as it will be after 3 to 5 days.
- Leave a little room (headspace) in each jar to ensure a proper seal. It also makes it easy to use tongs to get the pickles out without spilling the juice and making a mess.
Best Vinegar for Hot Pickles
While you can use rice wine vinegar or apple cider, there is no better option than distilled white vinegar. That’s because any other type of vinegar will add too much flavor that will take away from the traditional pickle taste.
The distilled white vinegar, on the other hand, offers just the right level of acidity and comes with a mild flavor and smell. It’s also transparent, so your hot pickles won’t have any funky color.
FAQs
How Long Do Hot Pickles Last?
These delicious homemade hot pickles last for up to one month in your refrigerator.
Is a pickle a fruit?
Since pickles are made from cucumbers, and cucumbers are fruits, you could make the argument that pickles are technically a type of fruit. However, the distinction between fruits and vegetables can sometimes be blurred.
In the culinary world, where classification tends to be based on taste and usage, fruits are often sweet and used in desserts or as a snack. Vegetables, on the other hand, are typically savory and more commonly used in main dishes or sides. In this sense, you might be more inclined to think of a pickle as a vegetable, given its savory taste and common use in salads or sandwiches.
By botanic definition, a pickle is a fruit. Nevertheless, in culinary terms, it leans more toward a vegetable. So, depending on the context, you can decide whether you want to consider a pickle a fruit, or a vegetable.
Fun Facts About Pickles
- There are a variety of pickles available, each with its own distinct flavors. You might be familiar with types like dill, sweet, bread and butter, and spicy pickles. These flavors are achieved by adjusting the ingredients in the pickling brine, which usually includes vinegar, water, salt and an assortment of herbs and spices.
- Interestingly, not all pickles rely on vinegar for preservation. There is a type called “fermented pickles” that uses acid bacteria to preserve the cucumbers instead. This fermentation process not only gives them a unique taste but also produces probiotics that are beneficial for your gut health.
- In the realm of pickles, people have pushed boundaries to set world records! For instance, the largest pickle ever grown weighed 12.9 pounds, while the longest pickle on record measured an impressive 67.75 inches.
