Can pickles be frozen? - What to do instead?

What’s better than making your own preserves and pickles? They always taste extra crunchy and savory and you appreciate them so much more.

However, they can be a ton of work to make and have a lengthy process. Worst of all, even though you think the yield will be huge, you’ll probably end up with only three jars.

This whole process is especially tedious when you have to slave away for hours over a pot of boiling vinegar in the height of summer.

The only way it’s worth the work is if it can last forever in the freezer.

So can pickles be frozen?  As a preservation method, you can’t freeze gherkins, but as a production method, you definitely can. To make gherkins in the freezer, boil pickled cucumbers, pre-freeze them, and then freeze them in glass containers. They will last up to a year in the freezer and several months in the fridge.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what exactly happens when gherkins are frozen and how to do it correctly to get them. We will also look at some tips and tricks to make your life easier.

Freeze pickles

When we think about freezing food, the purpose is often to make food last longer.

However, pickling ingredients is already a preservation method that will increase the shelf life of an ingredient, possibly more than even freezing ever could.

If you were to freeze already pickled cucumbers , they would lose their texture and flavor, since they have already undergone a cooking process that has altered their texture. Crystals that form during freezing will expand them further, resulting in almost mush.

This is where things get interesting. While researching how to preserve our homemade pickles, we stumbled upon a unique method to make and preserve pickles without all the work: by making them in the freezer.

How does making pickles work in the freezer?

Pickling food aims to make its flavor and texture last longer. However, when you boil pickled cucumbers, they tend to soften considerably and only become crisp again when placed in the fridge for a few days.

So what is the point of boiling?

You could argue that boiling is necessary for the cucumbers (along with other ingredients) to release their flavor and soak up it.

If you’ve ever tasted freshly boiled cucumbers, you’ll know that they only taste like fresh vinegar poured over soft cucumber; they are definitely not pickled.

Only after leaving the pickled cucumbers in the vinegar with the other ingredients for about 1-2 weeks in a cold fridge, then you start to taste the real pickled cucumbers as we know them.

But the freezer cold pickling method works just like traditional pickling , without the boiling of the ingredients, essentially without altering their texture.

Everything can be explained with science! When water freezes, it expands considerably. Thus, when the cucumber water and brine turn into crystals, they break the fibers and rearrange them, causing them to soften.

If you put it like that, it makes a lot of sense.

How to Freeze Pickles - Step by Step

This method of making frozen pickles is much faster than the traditional method.

1. Make the brine liquid

For this step, you can make the same brine as you would the traditional method, just don’t add the gherkins. Make sure the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil. Cool the brine completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

2. Macerate the gherkins

Cut the gherkins to the thickness you want. We recommend approximately ¼ - ½ inch (5mm - 1 cm). Place the slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. The salt will draw out the excess water that must be replaced by the brine liquid.

Let them sit for 1-2 hours before rinsing the slices and squeezing out any excess water.

3. Pack the cucumber slices

Fill the containers with the cucumber slices, leaving very little headspace. Add the liquid that has cooled until it almost reaches the top.

Leave at least 1 to 3 inches of headroom at the top of the container, depending on the size, to allow the water to expand during freezing.

4. Labeling

As in any pickling or preserving process, labels are very important in identifying batch and recipe failures.

The following information should always be written on your pickle jars

• Name the content, i.e. pickles, and include other ingredients used, such as dill
• Freeze date (this will help you rotate your stock)
• Expiration date (they should last up to 1 year in the freezer)

Gherkin labeling is crucial for three reasons:

1. To identify any problems in a batch that can be eliminated with the information on the label. For example, if your gherkins go bad, but they’ve only been frozen for 1 month, it means there’s a reason other than expiration.
2. To identify different jars from the same batch , which will help when you have several preserves in the freezer.
3. To ensure that the oldest batches are used first . This is called stock rotation or FIFO (first-in, first-out) method.

Second, if any meat goes bad, you can check the label to find out why. It can be due to many factors, but labeling the products will help you eliminate some of those reasons.

5. Put the containers in the freezer

Place the containers in the freezer, without lids, for about 3-4 hours, when the liquid begins to crystallize. Put the lid on and leave it until they are completely frozen.

Frozen pickles can last up to a year in the freezer . Once thawed (see related questions) they will last many months in the fridge before losing their texture and crunch.

Benefits of freezing cucumbers

When cucumbers are cooked hot, it is very easy for them to soften and mush. When the water in the pickle mix freezes, it cannot freeze any further, making it impossible for the cucumbers to overcook or soften.

Since there is no heat and the entire pickling process takes place in an anaerobic environment, the cucumbers do not oxidize or turn gray.

These pickles are much quicker to make than when using the traditional method, since you don’t have to wait for any ingredients to boil or cool.

Although it is always recommended to use sterilized jars for the pickles, because we are not using any hot liquid, if your jars are clean and you follow the steps correctly, you can save even more time by skipping this step.

Tips and Tricks for Freezing Pickles

To get the best results when making pickles, in the freezer or by the traditional method, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• As with freezing any product, make sure your freezer is free of odors and free of fluctuating temperatures. Especially since it’s so important to preserve the texture of these pickles, you can’t have them constantly thawed and frozen.
• Ideally, your freezer should be at least 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius).
• We advise you to use glass containers for pickles. These containers are easily sterilized and will not transfer odors or flavors to your batch. Just keep in mind that glass containers can become very brittle when frozen.
• Try dividing your freezer into different areas such as meats, vegetables, pickles, etc. This way, you can keep all your pickles in one section, making them easily accessible.
• Another cool trick is to use resealable freezer bags to store the brine and cucumbers. Be sure not to fill the bags all the way and to squeeze out all the air inside. Lay the bags flat on a tray in the freezer and when fully frozen they will stack very effectively.
• Most pickles contain sugar in the recipe. It is important to note that sugar lowers the freezing point of a mixture , so the more sugar the brine contains, the longer it will take to freeze. Try to keep the sugar levels low so the pickles freeze quickly.

Related questions

How do you defrost pickles?

When you are going to use your frozen pickles, thaw them in the fridge for 24 hours before you need them. Once thawed, they will last a long time in the fridge, but they will eventually lose their texture.

Are there specific cucumbers that work best?

We personally haven’t tried many different cucumbers, but we don’t see why a different cucumber would give different results.

However, if you use completely different vegetables, it could affect the freezing process.

Can these pickles be eaten, still frozen?

If you manage to get a frozen pickle out of the frozen brine, you can eat them frozen , but it would be hard to do. We recommend that you at least thaw them a little.

Can this method be used in the fridge?

You can pickle cucumbers in a refrigerator , but they won’t last as long or get as crisp as traditional and frozen pickling methods would.

This method of pickling is sometimes called quick pickling, since it does not infuse as much flavor and does not create a pleasant texture.