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It’s easy to make your own homemade Pickling Spice with the perfect combination of whole seeds and spices. Everything can be found in the bulk spice section at the grocery store. Use this recipe to pickle anything and store the extra in the pantry for future pickling needs. When you make your own spice blends, you get to control exactly how it tastes!
Why this recipe is so great:
- Super easy to make: Simply measure out each of the ingredients, combine them, and it’s ready to use.
- Versatile: Use this blend to make anything from homemade dill pickles, pickled beets, pickled eggs, pickled… anything.
- Customize it: Don’t like the taste of fennel? Love the flavor mustard seeds add? This recipe works fantastic as-is, but you can modify the ingredients to suit your needs. Can’t do that with a store bought spice blend!
Ingredients needed:
Exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Mustard seeds
- Coriander seeds
- Dill seeds
- Peppercorns
- Allspice berries
- Red pepper flakes
- Fennel seeds
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon stick
- Cloves
How to make homemade pickling spice:
- Measure spices: You only need a teaspoon and a tablespoon to measure out these ingredients!
- Combine: Just mix them together and they’re ready to use.
Recipe tips for perfect results:
- Use only whole seeds: Most of us have these spices in our pantry, but they exist in the ground form. You cannot use ground spices in a pickling blend.
- Where to buy the spices: You can buy bottles of any of these spices online or at the store, but I find the easiest way is to buy the amount you need from the bulk spice area at the grocery store. Not all stores have this option, but many do.
- Storage: To make pickles, you’ll use about one tablespoon of pickling spice per quart. This recipe makes about 8 Tablespoons, so you’ll have extra (unless you’re making a really big batch of pickles). Store leftover pickling spice in an airtight container at room temperature.
How to make pickles with this blend:
You can spice up quick pickle or canning recipes with this flavorful blend.
- Ingredients needed: You can pickle most anything with a combination of vinegar, water, salt, and this pickling spice. A common ratio is 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 2-4 tablespoons kosher or pickling salt, and 1-3 tablespoons of pickling spice. Amount of salt and spice depends on your desired flavors.
- Types of vinegar: A combination of vinegars can often produce very pleasing results, especially if a particular type is too strong, sweet, etc. Choose between white distilled, apple cider, rice, or white wine vinegars.
- Make the brine: Heat the vinegar, water, and salt until it comes to a gentle boil and then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Let this mixture cook for a few minutes so that the salt is fully dissolved. Pour over whatever you’re pickling in a clean mason jar with the pickling spice. Refrigerate if you’re making quick pickles or can in a water bath for longer storage.
- What to pickle: So many vegetables are fantastic when pickled. Choose from cucumbers, carrots, asparagus, beets, radishes, zucchini, or hard boiled eggs. You can always add cloves of garlic, chunks of onion, or slices of jalapeno to the mixture.
Other spices you can use:
Feel free to play around with the types and quantities of spices you use. You can make recipe substitutions or simply add additional flavors based on your preferences.
- Juniper berries
- Dried ginger
- Celery seeds
- Star anise
- Dried herbs like dill, rosemary, thyme, etc.
If you’ve made this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. I love hearing from my readers!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons dill seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 bay leaves crumbled
- 1 cinnamon stick crushed
- 8 whole cloves
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients and store in air tight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why would garlic turn green
I’m not sure I understand your question.
I love your recipes, they’re all natural with preservatives. These I will have a lifetime and pass on, thank you💕