Wednesday, June 21, 2017

MICROWAVE BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

One of our new favorite ways of making Bread and Butter pickles.  The microwave!  And this recipe comes to us courtesy of sweet Texas Rose, a frequent commenter.   

Here is the end result, yummy!


Now these aren't "canned" but if we're being honest, they don't last long enough to worry about that, ha.  You just keep them in the fridge and use like any other pickle. For the batch above, we used this glass bowl with lid but the next batch (bottom of this post) was in a canning jar (again, NOT canned, these are not shelf stable, just easier in a jar).  

Bread and Butter Microwave pickle ingredients
Here are the ingredients.  Cucumbers, sugar, vinegar, onion, celery seed, salt, turmeric and mustard seed. That's it!!  Recipe is at the bottom of this post.


Slice the cucumbers (we like them thick but you can make them thinner).  Cut up the onion and then add all remaining ingredients to microwave safe bowl. 
Stir to combine.

Bread and Butter pickles in the microwave
Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for about 10 minutes, stopping every 3 minutes or so to stir.  Be careful when pulling back the plastic wrap, they are hot!


After the first three minutes, stir.


After six minutes, stir again.


Finally, the last three or four minutes stir and remove to counter to cool.  You can see how they change from the beginning.

Microwave Bread and Butter pickles
Once cool, put in a jar or container and refrigerate. In the interest of full disclosure, this jar WAS full but I took the picture after we had eaten half, LOL!

MICROWAVE BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups sliced cucumbers (about 4 large)
1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar

Mix all together, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for 10 minutes, stopping to stir about every 3 minutes or so.  Put into a container, allow to cool and refrigerate.  You can enjoy them right away but after a couple of days in the fridge, they are SO good.  Crunchy with a great sweet sour flavor.  Enjoy!




EDIT TO ADD THIS DESCRIPTION:

WHAT ARE BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES?

Bread and Butter pickles are a combination of sweet and vinegary pickles.  Some might consider anything other than sour/dill to be a sacrilege to the history of the beloved pickle but these sure are good.  

So where did the name come from?  

There are two stories:

The first story involves cucumber farming family during the Great Depression that created these sweet and sour pickle slices with a surplus of cucumbers. They traded them to their grocer in exchange for some of the basics, "bread" and "butter", the name stuck and here we are.

The second story also comes from the Great Depression.  Times were tough, there wasn't a lot of food around, certainly meat, but cucumbers were easy to grow (we understand).  Someone came up with these sweet and sour pickle slices and when they were eaten on a slice of buttered, brown bread, it actually made for a substantial and filling meal.

SO, I guess the true story may be lost to history...which one do YOU like?  

26 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds easy enough but do have a ?
    Was just wondering how long these will last in the refrigerator for those who don't eat Bread and Butter pickles but want to give to neighbors / family members?

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    1. Will have to edit the post later to add that. Everything I read online said they will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Ours haven't lasted that long ha.

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    2. Thank you. I will be making these just as soon as I get me an onion.
      One nice thing about making these pickles this way; no canning jars used which gives me a chance to recycle old jars that I already have and to be able to share with neighbors and family.

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  2. oh cool...i will be making these! are you getting hit by the storm?

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    1. Very easy and very good. Some people like them thinly sliced, we like them a bit chunkier. Storm is scooting just to the East of us, the farm will be dry and probably not see any rain, here in downtown though we've gotten to feeder bands of rain but it has come and gone quickly. We're expecting much more overnight and into tomorrow but it should pass without much fuss. Thankfully.

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  3. I still have the cucumbers to use, so this recipe will work for me.

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  4. Thank you for sharing this! I will be making them soon.

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    1. Yay, they are very good, as long as your family likes sweetish pickles, ha.

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  5. I grow cucumbers in my greenhouse, I liked your recipe and will try to make them, I only didn't understand why you call it 'bread and butter' if you haven't any bread and butter in your recipe.

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    1. Great question!!! And we didn't think about the fact that other places might not have heard of these, since they are a somewhat uniquely American creation I guess. I have edited the post to add a detailed description of what I could find. Hope you enjoy!!!

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  6. Nadezda ... assuming I'm not the only one who has them on bread and butter ... sandwich is always better with pickles!!!

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    1. Yep, they are so good on sandwiches, and yep, even bread and butter with pickles. Yum!!

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  7. Interesting! I have not heard of a microwave pickle recipe, but I certainly will give it a go! Well, as soon as I can harvest cucumbers!

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    1. Hope you get a bushel full! They are good, quick and easy. Enjoy!

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  8. Hi 1st Man! :) I like the first story better, trading pickles for their bread and butter. I love the history behind dishes and recipes. I LOVE bread and butter pickles. I have fond memories of my grandma serving them with every dinner in a very expensive silver pickle dish. It looked like a big vase with a top on it and a long pickle fork! My grandma could have passed for the Queen of England, very proper lady she was! She never shared her recipe though, thank you so much for the microwave version!

    You know the pickles taste amazing on "Cuban" sandwiches which are broiled chicken, ham, Swiss cheese and some Dijon on a sub roll. That's our version anyway! Yum! :)

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    1. Yep, that's a pretty cool story. Lost in time I suppose. What a great memory you shared. A sieve pickle dish/jar? How cool is that! And yes, I didn't even think about Cuban sandwiches, I LOVE those, have't had one in a long time. I like how you make yours. I'm putting that on our list for things to make soon. Thanks for the reminder. With bread and butter pickles!!!

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  9. I always wondered about the name, never seemed to make any sense to me, thanks for the education.

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    1. I had to do some research but found these two stories with each claiming to be the accurate one. I guess we'll never know but at least we have them to eat, ha.

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  10. I’m glad that you liked the recipe. Good idea about making them directly in a jar. I’ve read that it can also be used for squash, zucchini, okra, green beans, peppers, beets, carrots, or cauliflower. I’ve been so busy making the canned version of B&B (and canning everything else!) that I have not made these this year yet. I noticed that my banana peppers are producing very well right now, so I’m going to try this recipe with them.
    I love the stories behind the possible origination of the name. The first one is my favorite. But I accidentally did my own version of the second - I made a cheese sandwich with them, got distracted, and forgot to put on the cheese. After several (delicious) bites, I realized the cheese was still on the plate. :)

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    1. Yes, yay thank you!!! Actually, I should correct, I didn't make them in the jar, still used a bowl so I had room to stir, just put them IN a jar to store easier in the fridge (plus it looks cool, ha). We've made these so much we haven't canned any yet. Ooh I bet banana peppers would be great like this. Let us know how they work. Heck, I'll go to the store and buy some if they are good!!

      And you know, I made a sandwich of them on purpose. I just used white bread and mayo and pickles. On purpose. Yummy. 2nd Man thought it was odd but I loved it. ;-)

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  11. We used to have bread and butter sandwiches. In those days the bread was different...firmer, I think. People didn't have much, but pickles were always around. We ate bread and butter with pickles, too. Brought back memories.

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    1. Good point! A nice firm bread would be good with butter and pickles. Awesome!!

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  12. 1st Man, if you don't mind I found this article that may be interesting read to some: http://www.indepthinfo.com/pickles/history.htm

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  13. I like both stories .... and I love Bread and Butter Pickles. I only made them for the first time last year. Eaten on an open chunky slice of buttered bread with a can of ice cold cider they are the perfect hot day lunch for a busy veggie grower.

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  14. OK, just had to make a batch of these this morning and they are as yummy as you say they are. Can hardly wait until tomorrow when they will be super good. Homemade bread and butter and pickles....Love!!

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