Most of the the pickles here in the US are either way too sour or too sweet for my taste and don’t have much flavor. Usually we stock up on German style pickles during Aldi’s German weeks, but last year I grew my own pickling cucumbers and had to figure out a recipe to use them all up. This one is the bomb, so much better than any store-bought and our favorite for the summer months when fresh cucumbers are in season.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers , sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 5 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup white balsamic or sweet Italian vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Instructions:

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.
2. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.
3. Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
4. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
5. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. (If you’re really impatient, though, they taste great after only a few hours!)
6. Remove the onions. (This is up to your preference. I like the flavoring the onions provide, but don’t prefer to actually eat them with my pickles)
7. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.