4.8 from 298 reviews

Half Sour Pickles

Name: Half Sour Pickles
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 5 kirby cucumbers (or however many you can fit into your jar); 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds; 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds; 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns; few pieces of fresh dill; 3 bay leaves; 6 cloves garlic (minced); 1/4 cup sea salt; 6 cups water; additional whole coriander seeds and peppercorns to add on top

5 minutes

cucumber garlic

By: Pamela Reed

Posted:1/4/19

Updated:4/23/25

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The BEST Half Sour Pickles recipe there is! These easy homemade pickles taste just like New York Crunchy pickles. No canning is needed to make these delicious pickles, just throw them in the refrigerator for a few days! Make them to find out why they’re so popular!

How to Make Half Sour Pickles

If I could stand on top of a mountain and yell one thing, it would be “I love pickles!” Seriously, I can’t get enough of them — they’re crunchy, briny, and just hit the spot any time of day. Whether I’m grabbing a quick snack or adding them to a burger, they’re always my go-to. If you’re a pickle lover like me, don’t miss out on my tangy, heartwarming Polish Dill Pickle Soup! It’s the perfect comfort food that’s packed with all the pickle goodness.

Right now, my cucumber plants are in full swing, and we’ve been busy picking and pickling those fresh kirby cucumbers. Did you know cucumbers are one of the easiest veggies to grow? I currently have 6 mason jars full of pickles in my fridge! And it’s not just cucumbers — I also love experimenting with other pickled veggies, like Pickled Red Onions, spicy Pickled Okra, and some classic Pickled Green Tomatoes. Each of them brings something unique to the table!

If you’re ever in Brooklyn and find yourself craving a pickle, you know where to come! After years of swooning over the pickles at all the NYC pickle spots, I’ve finally perfected the art of making the perfect half sour pickle. Trust me, it’s totally worth it!

Half Sour Pickles Recipe

A few notes about these half sour beauties:

Half sour pickles are made using a saltwater brine instead of vinegar, which gives them a milder, less acidic flavor. The saltwater helps draw out the natural flavors from the cucumbers while encouraging fermentation, which is what gives half sours their signature tang. This method allows the pickles to retain a more crisp texture and fresh taste, unlike the more tart, preserved flavor found in traditional vinegar-based pickles.
I recommend letting these pickles sit in the fridge for at least 4 days before digging in. After that, they’re so irresistible, you might find yourself finishing the jar in just a day or two. However, if you have some self-control, they can last for several weeks in the fridge.
Kirby cucumbers are the best for pickles, but honestly any cucumber if you can fit it into the jar will work.

Refrigerator Pickles Recipe

-If you don’t have Kirby cucumbers, no worries! For larger cucumbers, it’s a good idea to cut them into spears so they fit better in the jar. Just keep in mind that cutting the cucumbers exposes more surface area, which means the pickles may taste saltier as the flesh absorbs more brine.

-Please don’t skip on the seasonings. These pickles soak alongside delicious garlic, fresh dill, peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaves.

-This recipe uses a half gallon mason jar. The ingredients and amount of water to salt ratio in this recipe is for this sized jar.

-For premium crunch and crispness, I suggest using Ball Pickle Crisp. It works great to keep that fresh crunch and prevents they from becoming soft.

Fresh kirby cucumbers just picked from the garden!

One of the yummy herbs in this recipe is coriander seeds. If you have a cilantro plant and you neglect it, it will turn into coriander seeds. Awesome, right? I always do this every year so I get fresh coriander to last until next harvest season.

You can use a mortar and pestle to crush your dry ingredients or you can be like me and just use a tool (I don’t know the name of this so let’s just go with “tool”) to bash it all together. A rolling pin works great too. So does a hammer.

Put your cucumbers in the jar, then add your garlic.

Then your crushed dry ingredients.

Pick a few pieces of fresh dill. Doesn’t it smell great?

Then add your salt water and fresh dill.

Keep filling your jar with water until your cucumbers are completely covered. In the jar above, a little bit of the salt water still needs to be added.

Now it’s the hard part.. waiting for a few days to eat them!

But when it’s time… it will be worth it!

If you are making batches as you harvest, and you use similar jars sometimes it gets confusing to keep track of the ones that have been sitting the longest. To do this I use chalk or a Sharpie and write on the lid. #1 = eat first, #2 = eat next, #3 = eat next next.. etc.

Enjoy! 🙂

If you try this Half Sour Pickles recipe, please leave a comment or share it on Instagram with tag #brooklynfarmgirl – I’m always looking for photos to feature and share!

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4.81 from 298 votes (166 ratings without comment)