Sweet Dill Pickled Vegetables and the Fall Garden

Lightly sweet, dilly, tangy, crunchy - these pickled vegetables are all that. You can't eat just one piece - I dare you! They're addictive, delicious, and a fantastic way to use up all the different bits of vegetables that ripen in the garden at once. Use whatever combination of veggies tickles your pickle!

We're still heavy in the preserving mode around here.

Fall has settled in and it's time to put the garden to bed. I love this time of year. It's especially rewarding to be working in the garden when the whole yard is glowing golden with autumn colours.

We picked all the tender vegetables last week before the first frost hit, and now it's mostly just root vegetables left in the soil. There are still some runner beans ripening on the bean teepee (it escaped the very light frost), and a few herbs that are still going strong (the dill heads are perfect for pickling now).

We've worked a strip of soil and I just planted the fall garlic crop. We've been pulling out all the finished plants and piling them on the compost pile - it's huge!

Pippa, our black lab, may be getting to be an old lady, but she sure hasn't lost her penchant for sneaking into the garden and digging herself a few carrots for a snack! She also loves to pick herself an ear of corn or chomp on fresh peas whenever she can. 

Everywhere we look, the yard is dressed in her beautiful fall colours.

A fantastic way to highlight all that glorious bounty from the garden is with these Sweet Dill Pickled Vegetables. I first tasted these a couple years ago at my parents' cabin in northern British Columbia. Our neighbour there, Irene, brought over a jar of them for us to take home, and I was hooked. 

The brine is tangy and lightly sweet and the veggies all retain their crunch. A delicious dill flavour combines with a healthy touch of garlic to enhance the sunny garden flavours. Everyone who tastes these pickled vegetables keeps on coming back for more. 

Use Whatever You've Got on Hand for These Pickled Vegetables

I've already pickled several batches of these veggies since I got that first jar from Irene, and I've used a different combination of vegetables each time - that's the beauty of this recipe. Depending on what time of the season you make them, you can use whatever's freshest from your garden or the market. The only recommendation is to use firm vegetables that will retain their shape. Choose young, crisp vegetables and cut them into bite-sized pieces or slices, as you wish. 

Use Firm Veggies Like:

• carrots
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• brussels sprouts, halved
• bell peppers
• sugar snap peas
• snow peas
• green or yellow beans
• baby corn cobs
• small zucchini
• celery
• fennel
• asparagus
• mushrooms
• cucumbers (if using mature cucumbers, remove the seeds)
• onions
• okra
• squash or pumpkin 

I don't recommend tomatoes, potatoes, corn, herbs, leafy vegetables, or beets (they'd colour everything). 

Set these pickles out on the table with any kind of meal, to add punch and flavour. They'll bring back the taste of summer when the winter winds are howling! 

Guten Appetit!

* * * * *

Recipe curtesy of Irene Oliver, who called them Aunt Polly's Pickled Vegetables, but we now call them Irene's Pickled Veggies.

Sweet Dill Pickled Veggies

Margaret Bose Johnson

Lightly sweet, dilly, tangy, crunchy - these pickled vegetables are addictive, delicious, and a fantastic way to use up the garden's bounty. Use whatever combination of veggies tickles your pickle!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Save for Later

Prep Time 1 hr

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Course Canning, Pickles

Cuisine American, Canadian

Servings 5 quart jars

Equipment

• ▢
  5 quart jars, and canning lids and rings

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 4 cups (960ml) white vinegar
• ▢ 2 cups (400gms) sugar
• ▢ 5 tablespoons pickling salt or pure sea salt
• ▢ 10 large garlic cloves
• ▢ 5 heads of dill or 5 teaspoons of dill seeds
• ▢ 2½ teaspoons whole peppercorns, optional
• ▢ 5 quarts (~2kg total weight) of mixed fresh vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces, preferably harder vegetables, see Notes below
• ▢ boiling water

Instructions

 

• Sterilize the canning jars and heat the snap lids in a pot of simmering water.
• Prepare the vegetables by rinsing and draining them, trimming them and cutting or slicing each variety into bite-sized pieces.
• Into the bottom of each canning jar put: 1 tablespoon (14gms) of pickling salt, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 head of dill (or 1 teaspoon dill seeds), and ½ teaspoon of peppercorns (if using).
• Pack the jars full of the cut mixed vegetables, shaking the jar after each layer to get in as many veggies as possible. Fill each jar to within 1-inch (2.5cm) of the top.
• Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, heat to boiling and boil uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Pour 1 cup of this hot vinegar solution into each jar. Fill the remainder of the jar with plain boiling water, to within ½-inch (1cm) of the top.
• Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, wet dishcloth. Place one of the hot metal lids on each jar and screw on the metal ring so it is just finger tight (how tight you can turn it with just your thumb and index finger).
• Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes (see how to, here) or in a preheated 310°F oven for 15 minutes ( see how to, in the Notes below).
• Allow the jars to rest for at least a week before tasting them, to allow the flavours to fully penetrate the vegetables.
• Makes 5 quarts (litres) of pickled veggies, but the recipe can easily be scaled up to make more.

Notes

Use Firm Veggies Like: carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, snow peas, green beans, baby corn cobs, small zucchini, celery, fennel, asparagus, mushrooms, cucumbers (seeded), onions, squash or pumpkin cubes

How to Oven-Can Sweet Dill Pickled Veggies:

• Preheat the oven to 310°F (155°C).
• Place the jars onto a cookie sheet or in a 9x13" pan (easier to handle) and carefully slide the pan into the oven. This is the only tricky part since the pan full of jars is awkward and heavy. Only do 4 to 6 jars at a time.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Carefully remove the jars from the oven, keeping them level as you handle them, and place them right-side-up on a tea towel on the counter. Leave them undisturbed until they cool.

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