Bread and butter pickle

Bread and butter pickle is a type of pickle which is sweeter than the dill pickles. It is also known as sweet and sour pickle. Bread and butter pickles have a higher concentration of sugar.

These pickles are not served along with main course dishes. But they are a part of the main course dishes. These pickles are often used in sandwiches, hamburgers or potato salads.
People sometimes confuse bread and butter pickles with sweet pickles. However there is a difference in terms of the ingredients.

Sweet pickles use spices such as cinnamon, cloves and allspice along with vinegar. But bread and butter pickles use turmeric, mustard, onion and vinegar and sugar mixture.

The ingredients used in making bread and butter pickles are:

1. Large fresh cucumbers (6 nos)
2. Onions (4 nos)
3. 5 cups of ice cubes
4. ¼ cup salt (to taste)
5. 2 cups of white vinegar
6. ¾ cup sugar
7. ¾ tablespoon turmeric
8. 1 teaspoon celery seeds
9. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

The recipe is as follows;

1. Wash the cucumbers well. Cut slices of the washed cucumbers. Next, cut thin slices of the washed onions. Place the cucumbers and the onions in a bowl and add salt to the mixture. Put the ice cubes in the mixture. Let the mixture stand for about 2 to 3 hours. Change the ice cubes as frequently as required. Putting the vegetables in salt and water mixture makes them soft and hence enables faster mixing. The pickle making process is sped up.

2. After 1 hour, drain the salt water and wash the vegetables with cold water.

3. Add celery seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds, white vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl. Heat the mixture until it boils. Stir continuously until then. Cook it for about 3 minutes.

4. Sterilize the storing jars by boiling the jar and their lids in water for about 15 minutes. This enables de- contamination and ensures longer life of the pickle.

5. Place the cucumbers and onions in the sterilized jars. Add the vinegar and sugar mixture to the jars. A thin wooden or metal spoon can be run inside the mixture to ensure that no air gaps or bubbles are trapped inside the jars. Leave about half a centimeter space at the top of the jar.

6. Seal the jars immediately. Rubber bands can be used to secure the lids of jars tightly in position. Clean the rims of the lids and outer surfaces of the jars with a damp cloth to remove any food residue. Additional processing is required. This is done by boiling the jars in water bath or a tub for about 5 minutes.

7. After the jars cool, store them in a cool and dark place for at least 2 months.8. After this waiting period, the pickle is ready to be consumed.

Thus it can be seen that making bread and butter pickles is just the same as any other pickle except that the ingredients change. The taste of this pickle is equally tempting.

Read more about pickles at these sites:

pickles
dill pickles
fried pickles recipe
pickle recipes here
dill pickle recipe
fried pickles recipe
how to make pickles