These sweet Mustard Pickles are a real treat to make and have for the year when you can them. This pickle recipe is sweet yet tangy and is a perfect condiment to many dishes, including hot dogs, hamburgers, roast meats and more.
Do you love canning and preserving? Then try our Canned Tomatoes or Canned Candied Jalapenos. We also have a ton more under the search of canning.
Mustard pickles originated in the Maritimes, which is in Eastern Canada, and more specifically, Newfoundland and Labrador. They are a sweet and tangy condiment and a beloved tradition of the East Coast.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Love to can
- Sweet and tangy
- Great with so many meats
- Makes a nice gift
- Great Canadian recipe
Helpful Items for This Recipe
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Clear Jel Thickener (Cook-Type), 1.5LB (Pack of 1)
Ingredients for Mustard Pickles
Recipe Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets – Get a nice, fresh-looking cauliflower.
Small cucumbers, large sliced – Small pickling cucumbers work here.
Large cucumbers, cut in pieces – Use a softer cucumber, not one with a hard, waxy skin.
Sweet onions, sliced – I love using sweet onions for cooking. They take away that pungent taste of some bitter or stronger-tasting onions.
Medium red peppers, seeded and cut into pieces – These are added for taste and color; the original recipe omitted these.
Medium green peppers, seeded and cut into pieces – A different taste from the red peppers.
Coarse pickling salt (must use this for canning) – You must use a salt that doesn’t have iodine in it, like pickling salt.
White sugar – This balances the white vinegar and gives the pickles the sweetness they need.
Water – This is needed for simmering the vegetables.
Clear gel (found on Amazon, link above) – This is what is recommended now for thickener in canning. It is a modified cornstarch.
Dry mustard, turmeric, mustard seeds and celery seeds – These spices make the flavor and color of the pickles.
White vinegar – This gives the pickles tang and balances with the sugar.
Pint jars – This is what we used for canning.
How to Make Mustard Pickles
In a large stock pot, add all the vegetables, the sugar, pickling salt, and the 1 1/2 cups of water. Heat over medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a simmer, stirring often.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the clear gel, dry mustard, turmeric, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and white vinegar. Mix well, ensuring that the clear gel is dissolved and not lumpy.
Stir the vinegar mixture into the simmering vegetables and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture returns to a simmer. Continue to cook the vegetables for 30 minutes. The mixture should begin to thicken.
While the mixture is cooking, prepare 10, 1-pint sterilized jars.
Once the mixture has boiled for 30 minutes and has thickened slightly, fill the sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jars. Using a wet paper towel, wipe the top of each jar to ensure it is clean.
Place the lids on and process the jars for 20 minutes. Increase time according to your altitude. See our convenient printable chart.
Recipe Pro Tips!
How long do mustard pickles last?
If they are opened and in the refrigerator, they will last 3-4 weeks in an air-tight container like the jar they are canned in.
When canned, they can last up to a year in a cool, dark place.
How to Thicken Mustard Pickles
Well, your grandmother would use flour or cornstarch to thicken mustard pickles, but this practice is now obsolete in canning, as they say the heat can’t penetrate the thickening, and they are not considered safe.
Clear gel for cooking is now what is recommended as a thickener for canning.
WHAT PAIRS WELL WITH MUSTARD PICKLES?
This condiment goes so lovely with the following recipes, but try them and tell me what you love to serve them with?
Mustard Pickle Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 4 cups small cucumbers large sliced
- 4 cups large cucumbers cut in pieces
- 4 cups sweet onions sliced
- 3 medium red peppers seeded and cut into pieces
- 2 medium green peppers seeded and cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup course pickling salt must use this for canning
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2/3 cup clear gel found on Amazon
- 1/4 cup dry mustard
- 1 Tbsp. turmeric
- 1 Tbsp. mustard seeds
- 1 Tbsp celery seeds
- 5 cups white vinegar
- 10 – 1 Pint jars
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, add all the vegetables, the sugar, pickling salt, and the 1 1/2 cups of water. Heat over medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a simmer, stirring often.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the clear gel, dry mustard, turmeric, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and white vinegar. Mix well, ensuring that the clear gel is dissolved and not lumpy.
- Stir the vinegar mixture into the simmering vegetables and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture returns to a simmer. Continue to cook the vegetables for 30 minutes. The mixture should begin to thicken.
- While the mixture is cooking, prepare 10 1-pint sterilized jars.
- Once the mixture has boiled for 30 minutes and has thickened slightly, fill the sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jars. Using a wet paper towel, wipe the top of each jar to ensure it is clean.
- Place the lids on and process the jars for 20 minutes. Increase time according to your altitude. See our convenient printable chart.
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