The Best Cucumber Variety To Use For Quick Pickles - Tasting Table

"At BATA in Tucson, Arizona, Chef and Owner Tyler Fenton has a robust pickling and fermentation program that makes him chiefly qualified to know the best cucumbers for pickling. "A favorite from our favorite farmer, Joe at Southwind Farms, is Suyo cucumbers," he says. The sweet, curved cucumber has all the hallmarks of what makes the perfect pickling pick. "Any crunchy cucumber will make a nice, quick pickle since you want to capture that texture in your pickle," he explains."

"Apart from the texture of the cucumbers, the size is equally as important for Fenton. "I generally prefer to work with smaller-diameter cucumbers as well. They tend to have smaller seeds." Although they're quite long, suyo cucumber's skinny frame makes them the perfect size. Smaller cucumber seeds tend to have surrounding areas that contain less water, making these choices the best cucumbers for the crunchiest pickles."

"Once you know how to make quick pickles, it's hard to go back to the store-bought kind. Having complete control over the shape, thickness, and flavor is ideal - but there's another quality that's equally as important when making the dish. Before deciding how to flavor your quick pickles, you'll need to know the best type of cucumber to make them with."

Choose crunchy, sturdy cucumbers with small diameter and smaller seeds to achieve the crispiest quick pickles. Suyo cucumbers are sweet, curved, long and slim, with thin skin and a skinny frame that preserves firmness when submerged in hot brine, producing crunchy results even after as little as 15 minutes. Smaller seeds have surrounding areas that contain less water, helping maintain texture. Armenian-style cucumbers also work well for quick pickles: they are long, slender, thin-skinned, and mildly herbaceous, though they can become sweeter as they mature because the variety is technically a melon.

Read at Tasting Table