Crunchy Pickled Cucumbers with Citric Acid for Winter
Wonderful cucumbers with an appetizing crunch! Pickled cucumbers with citric acid come out crisp, sweet-sour, slightly spicy, and work well for salads or as a side. Best of all - there’s no vinegar at all!
Updated : 04 March, 2026
Easy
About 1 hour.
Ingredients
For a 3 liter jar
2 kilograms
Cucumber
4
Garlic
to taste
Dill
8
Cherry leaves
2 teaspoon
Citric acid
8
Peppercorns
6
Cloves
2 tablespoon
Salt
4 tablespoon
Sugar
1.6 liter
Water
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to pickle cucumbers with citric acid? Prepare all ingredients in advance so you won’t be measuring mid-process. Choose pickling cucumbers (with spines) and try to pick similar sizes for a nicer look. Instead of a dill umbrella, you can use 1 tsp dill seeds. For extra crunch, soak the cucumbers in cold water for 2 hours beforehand. Wash and sterilize the jars; pour boiling water over the lids.
Step 2
Wash the cucumbers thoroughly under running water and trim a few millimeters off both ends. This helps them pickle faster.
Step 3
I’m using two 1.5 L jars (about 1.6 qt each), but you can also use one 3 L jar. In the sterilized jars, place cherry leaves (4 per jar), a dill umbrella, sliced garlic, cloves, and hot peppercorns.
Step 4
Pack the cucumbers into the jars as tightly as possible. Usually the bottom layer is set vertically, then the rest is packed in to leave as little empty space as possible.
Step 5
Pour boiling water over the cucumbers, cover with lids, and let stand for 15 minutes.
Step 6
Carefully pour the water from the jars into a saucepan. Add 2 ladles of filtered water (extra for evaporation) and bring the brine to a boil over medium heat.
Step 7
Once the water boils, add sugar and salt. Be careful: add the sugar gradually. If you dump it in all at once, it can cause vigorous boiling and spill over. Boil the brine for 3 more minutes.
Step 8
Add 1 teaspoon of citric acid to each jar. It acts as an extra preservative here instead of vinegar.
Step 9
Pour the hot marinade into the jars. Because of the citric acid, the top cucumber may change color a bit - this is normal; later they’ll all take on an even pickled color.
Step 10
Screw on or seal the lids. Turn the jars upside down and wrap in a warm blanket. Leave until fully cooled to room temperature, then store.
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