Sugar free gherkins

[Hotglove]

Hi
I like pickled gherkins but it is not easy to find the “sour” variety.
Most jars are so sweet that they are like a dessert, a local firm used to make really clean, sharp tasting gherkins but have now closed down.
Anybody know of a traditional, sharp tasting product?
Incidentally, I had a similar problem finding piccalilli that wasn’t like yellow jam and was lucky enough to find Waitrose Essential Mustard Piccalilli, which is not full of sugar, plus has the advantage of a reasonable price.
Over to you……

 

[In Response]

Have you tried making your own?
I have not done gherkins but have pickled beetroot and cucumber (separately). It is very easy and you can add as much or little sugar as you want. I think gherkins are a type of small cucumbers - there are plenty of recipes on the web.
As I kid I remember a production line of pickled onions - my Dad would dig up the shallots from the allotment, my brother and I would peel them and my Mum would put together the pickling liquor and sterilise the jars.

 

[Fenn]

Just yum ok, just yum... now I’m hungry

 

[Larissima]

I like these pickled cucumbers, but they are a bit bigger and softer than real gherkins: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/273482385

On the smaller scale, these cornichons also seem to have no sugar added: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/280068422

 

[Mr_Pot]

I am growing some ridge cucumbers which I could pick when gherkin size. Anyone got a tried and tested recipe to pickle them?

 

[SlimLizzy]

Hi
I like pickled gherkins but it is not easy to find the “sour” variety.
Most jars are so sweet that they are like a dessert, a local firm used to make really clean, sharp tasting gherkins but have now closed down.
Anybody know of a traditional, sharp tasting product?
Incidentally, I had a similar problem finding piccalilli that wasn’t like yellow jam and was lucky enough to find Waitrose Essential Mustard Piccalilli, which is not full of sugar, plus has the advantage of a reasonable price.
Over to you……

Can't remember if it was Lidl or Aldi, but they do Cornichons and I believe gherkins without added sugar. Checked the jar in the fridge, but it came from Carrefours so probably no use to you.

 

[miahara]

I am growing some ridge cucumbers which I could pick when gherkin size. Anyone got a tried and tested recipe to pickle them?

We've not tried pickling whole cucs. But we do make cucumber and onion pickle by thinly slicing cucumber and onions and layering in a jar of malt vinegar. If we've got any dill growing we add a bit of that too.
We've a lot of cucs coming on in our polytunnel at present so may have a try at pickling some baby ones in white vinegar just out of curiosity.

 

[MrsA2]

Back in lockdown we had some from Asda's Polish aisle online. Have never seen them in a store, only on line.
The only trouble was they didn't last long once opened as the sugar is a preservative.
Have a hunt through the ethnic or European aisles of other supermarkets

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

I have not had gherkins for a long time because the last lot were soggy and not crisp or crunchy, I stopped buying pickled onion because they were to sweet as well.

I make my own pickle onions without any sugar in the malt vinegar, I supposed you could make your own gherkins the same way, soak the gherkins over night in a bucket of salt water, drain, put in sterilised pickle jars and cover with white vinegar and spices of choice.

We used to be able to get a great English piccalilli (forgotten the brand name) which was sharp to the taste, mad cow disease put a stop to importing that here. I have never been able to replicate the taste in all of my efforts to make it.

 

[Mr_Pot]

I have not had gherkins for a long time because the last lot were soggy and not crisp or crunchy, I stopped buying pickled onion because they were to sweet as well.

I make my own pickle onions without any sugar in the malt vinegar, I supposed you could make your own gherkins the same way, soak the gherkins over night in a bucket of salt water, drain, put in sterilised pickle jars and cover with white vinegar and spices of choice.

We used to be able to get a great English piccalilli (forgotten the brand name) which was sharp to the taste, mad cow disease put a stop to importing that here. I have never been able to replicate the taste in all of my efforts to make it.

Mad cow disease and piccalili, you lost me there!

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Mad cow disease and piccalili, you lost me there!

Just to make it clearer for you, food products including piccalilli from the UK were banned when the mad cow disease was rampant there.

 

[Hotglove]

I have not had gherkins for a long time because the last lot were soggy and not crisp or crunchy, I stopped buying pickled onion because they were to sweet as well.

I make my own pickle onions without any sugar in the malt vinegar, I supposed you could make your own gherkins the same way, soak the gherkins over night in a bucket of salt water, drain, put in sterilised pickle jars and cover with white vinegar and spices of choice.

We used to be able to get a great English piccalilli (forgotten the brand name) which was sharp to the taste, mad cow disease put a stop to importing that here. I have never been able to replicate the taste in all of my efforts to make it.

Best piccalilli I have ever tasted was home made by a West Indian lady who ran a B&B that was much-used by travelling steel erectors, absolutely superb (as was all of her cooking)