Hundred-Year-Old Tips for Serving and Eating Small Cucumber Pickles (Gherkins)

My sense is that small cucumber pickles, which are often called gherkins, were more popular years ago than they are now. I can’t remember the last time I saw them at a potluck dinner or family gathering, but when I was a child, they were served in lovely relish dishes at every holiday meal. Until I saw a short piece in the 1925 issue of a cooking magazine about how to serve and eat small cucumber pickles, I never thought about whether gherkins were popular a hundred years ago, or if they became popular later in the 20th century.

The magazine provides detailed, but, in my opinion, very confusing information about how to serve gherkins. I think (but am not positive) that the article provides tips for serving them when hosting a dinner at home, as well as how a waitress should serve them at a restaurant or event.

How to Serve and Eat Small Cucumber Pickles

Small pickled cucumbers may be served with meat or fish at a dinner or luncheon, either by placing a portion on the dinner plate, or by having the waitress offer them. Very wee gherkins may be served like olives, for hors d’oeuvres. If the waitress serves them, it should be with a fork or spoon, and if offered as an accompaniment, we think the guest should help themself by means of a fork or spoon, placed in the dish. But if the gherkins are a substitute for olives, and served in the little hors d’oeuvres dishes, they may then be offered to one another by the guests between the courses, and eaten as finger foods, like olives. At a large and formal dinner, the hors d’oeuvres are often offered by the waitress, and a spoon or fork may then be placed in the dish.

American Cookery (February, 1925)

Did you follow all that? It’s hard to believe that serving gherkins was so complicated. Apparently, gherkins were considered a gourmet food a hundred years ago, and many readers were somewhat unfamiliar with them.

Old-fashioned Sweet Cucumber Pickle Strips

There were lots of cucumbers in the refrigerator, and my husband said, “Make sweet pickles,” so I started digging through my 1919 cookbooks for a hundred-year-old sweet pickle recipe. I found one that looked somewhat promising, but it ended up being frustrated because it lacked key information.

Recipe for Sweet Cucumber Pickles — Source: Old Reliable Farm and Home Cookbook

When I read this recipe, I had more questions than answers: How many cucumbers do I need to make this recipe? How do I make a “weak brine”? What would be a good spice combination that would result in tasty pickles?

Not to be deterred, I forged ahead – and googled “weak brine.” I then pulled out some of my other cookbooks and looked at their pickle recipes to get a sense of how many cucumbers might be needed based upon the amount of sugar and vinegar listed in the recipe. I also considered various spice combinations listed in other recipes.

Here’s my stab at fleshing out and modernizing this recipe:

Sweet Cucumber Pickle Strips

Servings: approximately 5 pints
Difficulty: difficult
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15 pounds large firm cucumbers

3 quarts boiling water

4 cups vinegar

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed

Brine

1 cup salt

8 cups water

Peel cucumbers, then quarter cucumbers by cutting in half lengthwise and then cutting each half in half. Scrape the seeds out of the quarters to create strips.

Put the strips in a crock, or large glass bowl or jar. Cover with the brine. (Make brine by stirring salt into the water.) Make sure the strips are submerged in the brine by weighting them down with a plate or other weight. Leave in brine overnight (at least 8 hours), then drain using a colander. Place colander with cucumber strips in sink (if not already in the sink). Scald the cucumber strips by pouring boiling water over them.

In the meantime, make the pickling syrup. Combine vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, and mustard seed in a large kettle. Using medium heat bring to a boil. Add the cucumber strips, and bring back to a boil. Cook until the strips are translucent (about 3-5 minutes).

Pack the strips and syrup into hot pint jars; fill to 1/4 inch of top. Wipe jar rim and put lid on.

Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

The verdict: The pickle strips turned out okay. They were sweet and tangy, and had a texture similar to thinly-sliced bread and butter pickles. They were not as crisp as some other pickles. That said, the next time I make pickles, I’ll probably use a different recipe that provides more detailed instructions.

Old-Fashioned Watermelon Rind Pickles

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, September 20, 1912: Don’t have much for today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

I continue to enjoy making foods that were popular in central Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. Since Grandma didn’t write much I’ll tell you about my latest cooking endeavor.

Pickled foods were incredibly popular a hundred years ago.

I decided to make old-fashioned watermelon pickles—and they looked lovely and tasted great.

It was a three-day process, but well worth the effort.

Old Fashioned Watermelon Pickles

4-5 quarts watermelon rind

Water

Salt

2 cups apple cider vinegar

7 cups sugar

1 tablespoon whole cloves

3 sticks cinnamon

1 inch cube of fresh ginger

Select watermelon with a thick, firm rind. Cut off the outer green skin, and remove the red watermelon flesh, leaving a very thin layer of pink. Cut into 1-inch squares. Place in a 2 gallon glass bowl or crock. (I used 2 smaller bowls).

Cover with a salt water solution (2 tablespoons salt to 4 quarts water). Cover and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.

After 24 hours, drain and rinse with cold water. Cover with ice water. Let stand for 1 hour, then drain.

Place the rind in a large pan, and cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.

Put spices in a cheesecloth bag. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices in large pan. Bring to a boil. Add rind. Simmer until rind is translucent.

Put rind and syrup into large glass bowl or crock. Cover; and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.

Remove spice bag. Drain off syrup, put into a pan, and heat to boiling.

Pack the rind into hot pint jars; cover with the hot syrup, fill to 1/4 inch of top. Wipe jar rim and put lid on.

Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Makes approximately 6 pints.

Old Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Wednesday, September 4, 1912: Same as yesterday.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

The previous day, she’d written:

Nothing doing today.

Sounds like a slow couple of days in Grandma’s life.

I wonder if Grandma’s mother was busy preserving foods for the upcoming winter months while Grandma in school. . . or did she wait until Saturday for major canning projects when she had her daughters home to help.

Maybe she made Bread and Butter Pickles.

Bread and Butter Pickles

8 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 cups onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups vinegar

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons turmeric

3 inches stick cinnamon

2 teaspoons celery seed

4 peppers (red and green), finely diced

Mix cucumbers, onions, and salt together in a large ceramic bowl or casserole dish. Let stand two hours; drain. In a large pan mix together vinegar, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, celery seed, and peppers. Bring to a boil. Put in drained cucumbers and onions. Boil for 15 minutes. Jar and seal.

Makes about 3 1/2 pints. (I usually double the recipe, but it requires a very large pan.)

Note: Small thinly sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash can be substituted for the cucumbers for excellent pickled squash.

I make this recipe almost every summer and they always turn out great.

(I probably should note that this recipe isn’t from my side of the family. I got this old recipe from my mother-in-law, but it is a typical traditional Pennsylvania recipe. In any case, the pickles are really good. )