Easy Freezer Pickles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can I freeze homemade pickles? ›

Freeze in pint-size jars for at least 1 week and up to 6 months (be sure to leave 1 inch of space below the lip of the jar to allow for expansion during freezing). When ready to eat, thaw one jar in the refrigerator overnight; thawed pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Pack into freezer containers and cover with brine (I use ziplock bags to have the pickles in small portions and then place the small bags in a larger freezer container).

Cucumbers are 90% percent water and cannot be frozen and preserved plain without becoming mushy. However, they can be prepared and frozen as pickles. During the pickling process, salt draws out some of the water within the cucumbers and the concentrated sugar syrup used to pickle them firms them.

Once pickles are prepared, they can be refrigerated for short-term use or canned to create a shelf-stable product that's safe for long-term storage. Be sure to use a research-based, tested recipe from recommended resources like National Center for Home Food Preservation, USDA, Ball, or Cooperative Extension.

Pickles generally shouldn't be stored in the freezer. Freezing and then defrosting can make them soft and mushy. The exception is homemade freezer pickles, which are made by packing sliced vegetables in vinegar and sugar before they are frozen.

The experts over at Ziploc told me that their freezer bags “are designed to protect in very low temperatures and harsh environments against punctures and tears.” So, in other words, while you can use a normal Ziploc bag to freeze food, chances are it won't escape the clutches of freezer burn and will be more prone to ...

Use the Right Gear: You must use containers, bags and wraps designed for the freezer. These are thick enough to keep moisture in and freezer odors out. Even when you double up regular sandwich bags or plastic wrap, they are simply not thick enough to do the job.

I realized that day that vacuum-sealing these freezer pickles was probably the quickest and easiest preserving I'd ever done! Note: Vacuum-sealing food is not a replacement for canning, but it is a wonderful way to extend the freshness of foods.

Yes, you can freeze cucumbers, but there's a catch. Frozen cucumbers will never have the same crisp snap as fresh cucumbers. Here's why. Cucumbers are about 95% water, so freezing and thawing will affect their cell structure, resulting in a mushy texture.

Two other things to keep in mind: Some vegetables, like cucumbers and potatoes, don't retain their texture well after defrosting so they aren't ideal for sealing and freezing, and avoid putting hot food immediately in the fridge as it can increase the temperature inside.

Can you freeze whole raw cucumbers? ›

Cucumbers have a high water content (they're ninety-five percent water), but they do freeze well. Freezing cucumbers is the best way to preserve and enjoy them all year round. It's advisable to freeze cucumber slices rather than fresh cucumbers; whole cucumbers become soggy and lose their flavor once you defrost them.

Complete answer: The salt form of Benzoic acid i.e. Sodium benzoate is one of the most common chemical food preservatives. Sodium benzoate is a common preservative used in acidified food such as fruit juices, jams, pickles, preserves, fruit co*cktails, etc. Yeasts' growth is inhibited by benzoate to a greater extent.

How long do refrigerator pickles last? Homemade refrigerated pickles last at least three to four weeks in the fridge, McClellan says. Any longer and the quality will start to decline. You'll notice the brine goes from clear to murky and cloudy, and the pickles start to lose their texture.

Thaw freezer pickles in the refrigerator.

Using glass jars

Pickles kept in plastic bags or containers can spoil easily. To increase the shelf life of food items, it is necessary to store them in tightly packed containers. Even if you keep the container in sunlight, the moisture in air would not affect the pickle when you store it in glass jars.

This is probably the most common food-freezing question I get and my answer is yes. These jars are not quite as heavy-duty as actual canning jars, so you might want to be slightly more careful with them. But I've frozen food in them plenty of times and it's been fine as long as I leave sufficient headspace.