IDEA ALLEY

Recipes are dillies for sweet pickles

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Responses to Phyllis’ request for sweet dill pickles came pouring in. And while the basic method is the same - take purchased hamburger dill pickles and drain off the brine and add sugar - each recipe is slightly different. Some Kats add lots of garlic, while others go for a hint of spice with cinnamon.

Margaret Burrell shares this first recipe.

“I keep these in my refrigerator all the time. I haven’t bought a sweet pickle in 30 years,” Burrell writes.

Crispy Sweet Pickle Chips

1 jar hamburger dills, drained (save jar)

Sugar

1 clove garlic, cut into 3 pieces

1 cinnamon stick

Coat each pickle slice with sugar on both sides. Place in a mixing bowl, then add the garlic and cinnamon stick. Stir well.

Cover and refrigerate. Stir three times a day for three days. Return pickles to jar and store in the refrigerator.

Doris Herndon’s version gets extra flavor from tarragon vinegar.

Doris’ Sweet Dill Pickles

1 quart jar sliced dill pickles, drained (save jar)

2 ¾ cups granulated sugar

½ cup tarragon vinegar

3 tablespoons pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag

In a large bowl, combine the pickles, sugar, vinegar and spice bag and stir until sugar dissolves. Return pickles to jar (or another quart container). Refrigerate. Ready to eat in 3 days.

Makes 1 quart.

“This is my daughter’s pickle recipe,” writes Barbara Groskopf.

“I keep a jar made all the time. This makes a lot but they keep well and taste great.”

Melissa’s Pickles

1 gallon sliced dill pickles, drained (save jar)

4 pounds sugar

2 heads of garlic, chopped or equivalent amount of bottled minced garlic

Make several layers of all the ingredients in the pickle jar. Close jar. Refrigerate, turning jar to mix, for 2 to 3 days before serving.

Ann Beck shares this variation, which she credits to Gail Clark.

Candied Dill Pickles

1 quart cheap dill pickles or dill pickle slices (save jar)

2 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup vinegar

2 tablespoons pickling spice in a cloth bag (see note)

Pour off brine. If using whole pickles, slice them. Place pickle slices in a bowl and cover with sugar; stir in vinegar.

Poke the bag down into the pickle mixture. Let set, covered, at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.

Place all back into the jar and refrigerate.

Note: Beck makes a bag using a paper coffee filter, gathered around the spices and twisted closed at the top.

“[This is] my favorite sweet dill pickle recipe,” Gail Zanoff writes.

“It is one that I got from my aunt. Easy and delicious!”

Aunt Roselyn’s Candied Dill Pickles

1 jar hamburger dill slices (save jar)

2 ½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon celery seed

Dash of garlic powder

Drain pickles. Save jar.

In a large bowl, combine the pickles, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and garlic powder. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, stir again, and when the sugar is completely dissolved, put back in jar. Refrigerate.

An unidentified reader shares this version, which uses Splenda in place of sugar.

Sugar-Free Sweet Dill Pickles

½ gallon whole dill pickles (not kosher)

4 cups Splenda

1 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon pickling spice

Drain pickles. Place pickles in a large bowl and add water and ice to cover. Refrigerate 2 hours. Drain and pat dry.

Cut pickles into ¼ -inch slices and place in a large, heat-safe bowl; set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the Splenda, vinegar and pickling spices to a boil, stirring until Splenda dissolves. Pour mixture over sliced pickles. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days before serving.

REQUESTS

Speaking of pickles, Brenda Dickson is looking for a recipe for dill pickles to make with home-grown cucumbers when summer finally arrives.

Chocolate Cheesecake like that served at Stoby’s Restaurant in Russellville for Louise DiPietro. Stoby’s menu describes the cheesecake as “fluffy chocolate cheese cake on a cake-like crust, crowned with whipped cream and chocolate shavings,” DiPietro writes.

Send recipe requests, contributions and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; email: [email protected] Please include a daytime phone number.

Food, Pages 38 on 04/23/2014

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