Bread and Butter Pickles- The Splenda Way

Today my friend Gerty came over to make Bread and Butter pickles with me.  She had made hers last week the real southern way – lots of sugar.  After making them she called and said she thought they could be done with Splenda and asked if I wanted to try them with her.  Gerty, being a scientist, brought a jar of her sugar pickles as a control to compare to my Splenda version.  Russ, as the official pickle taster, claimed the Splenda version to be equally delicious.

Since these are refrigerator pickles- meaning no canning is needed.   Anybody can make them without fear of killing a loved one with botulism.

1 ½ c. White vinegar

2/3 c. apple cider vinegar

2 T. pickling spice (just buy a jar at the grocery store, rather than measuring out the mustard seeds, juniper berries, bay leaves, etc. yourself.

2 c. pourable Splenda  (It measures the same as sugar)

2 ½ lbs of cucumbers

2 Vidalia onions

¼ c. kosher salt

In a sauce pan heat up the vinegars and when it reaches a boil add the Splenda, stir and remove from heat.  Add the pickling spices and let sit for at least four hours.  This can be done the day ahead.

Scrub the cucumbers clean and cut off one end.  Using a mandoline, cut then using the wavy cutter.  This gives you more surface to absorb the pickling vinegar.  If you don’t have a mandoline, you can cut them with a regular ‘ole knife and just be sad.

Slice the onions into slivers with the mandoline too.  Mix cucumbers and onions together in a large stainless steel bowl with the kosher salt.  Cover the whole pile with a tea towel- that’s a clean non-terry cloth kitchen towel inside the bowl.  On top of the tea towel fill the rest of the bowl with ice and put the whole contraption in the refrigerator to chill and let the cucumbers release a bunch of water.

After four hours, strain the pickling spices from the sweetened vinegar and heat it back up to a boil.

Using a slotted spoon so as not to get the cucumber water, fill clean glass jars with the cucumber-onion-salt mixture.  Put a spoon in the jar to help divert the heat from the glass jar and pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers in the jar.  Cap the jars with the top and place them in the refrigerator.  Let chill for at least 6 hours before enjoying.