Can You Freeze Pickles? Most people would answer no to this question, but that’s not entirely true. There are a few ways to freeze cucumbers, but you have to know that they require work (some of them quite a bit). And you won’t necessarily be happy with the results you get. Truth be told, cucumbers are mostly made up of water and (like most other vegetables) should be eaten fresh.
frozen cucumbers
A whole cucumber certainly doesn’t freeze well, but as with other vegetables, there are other options. There are basically two options. The first is to slice the cucumber and keep it in brine or vinegar. The other is to use these pickles in a recipe that allows the dish to be frozen once ready. Of course, none of the options guarantee that the results will be satisfactory.
Frozen cucumbers in brine
Start by washing and peeling the cucumbers. When they’re done, you should slice them thinly (you can use a food processor if you like). It’s not time to prepare the brine. Here’s a recipe from ThirtyFun.com:
In a large bowl, mix 2 quarts of cucumbers with chopped onions and 2 tablespoons of salt. Leave for 2 hours. Rinse well with cold water, drain and return to a clean bowl. Add 2/3 cup oil, 2/3 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon celery seed. Mix well. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
Once you have the brine ready, place the sliced cucumbers in plastic containers or jars and cover them with brine. Please remember to leave some headroom as the contents of the jar or container will expand. Seal these jars or containers tightly and place them in the freezer and keep them there for at least a week before freezing. Thaw in the fridge.
Read Also: Can you freeze bean sprouts?
As you can see, it definitely takes time and effort to do this. So you need to be sure that it is worth spending the time and money on this way of freezing cucumbers. If you decide to give it a try, try freezing just a small amount the first time to see if you’re happy with the results.
Frozen pickles
There are quite a few frozen pickle recipes out there on the internet so I’ll just link a few of them. Using cucumbers in frozen pickles is probably the best way to freeze cucumbers and extend their shelf life.
summary
There are at least a few ways to freeze pickles. They all require work and do not guarantee that you will be happy with the results you will get. You can experiment with freezing pickles if you want, but they definitely do better when eaten fresh.