The Best Cucumber Variety To Use For Quick 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.

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. "A soft cucumber won't make a crunchy pickle." Although you can make pickles in as little as 15 minutes, the cucumber needs to be sturdy enough to survive being submerged in boiling hot brine without becoming too soft.

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.

Suyo cucumbers are a favorite of Fenton's, but the chef also describes himself as "a fan of Armenian-style cucumbers." Like suyo cucumbers, Armenian cucumbers are long and slender, with thin skin that's just right for pickling. They have a mild, herbaceous taste to them, but since the cucumber variety is technically a melon, they can grow sweeter as they mature.

Coming packed with their own natural flavor is one of the most important things a cucumber can do before it becomes a pickle. "I like to keep things simple," says Fenton when discussing the brine, "so if adding flavors, keep it to a minimum and ensure they bring something important to the party." The mildly sweet taste and crunchy texture of either suyo or Armenian cucumbers are fit for a classic dill pickle brine. The mustard seeds and black peppercorns add a fiery depth to the cucumbers, while fresh dill maintains the vegetable's earthy flair.

Fenton recommends giving the brine a taste before committing to pickling the cucumbers. "Taste your pickling liquid, it should be aggressive but delicious." For each pickle slice to have the same appetizing bite, Fenton says a normal knife won't cut it. "Use a mandolin to ensure even cuts unless you have very nice knife skills. Unevenly cut cucumbers will yield varied results."