Glass jar filled with classic golden bread and butter pickle slices, packed with cucumbers and onions, photographed in a 1970s James Beard–style kitchen with soft lighting and vintage props.

Vintage Bread and Butter Pickles – Classic Sweet and Tangy Crunch

Name: Vintage Bread and Butter Pickles – Classic Sweet and Tangy Crunch
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, unpeeled; 1 green pepper; ¼ cup salt; 2 cups white sugar; ¼ tsp. ground cloves; 1 tbsp. mustard seed; ½ tsp. celery seed (or more if desired); 2 bay leaves; 2 cups cider vinegar

Sweet, salty, and perfectly crunchy delicious. Bread and butter pickles are the ultimate sandwich pickle, all the sweetness of a sweet pickle, balanced with salty seasonings and flavorful onions and peppers.

They are absolutely perfect, so I was super excited to try this vintage recipe I found in the vintage 1973 ‘Three Rivers Cookbook, The Good Taste of Pittsburgh’. It’s super simple, and it’s a fridge pickle recipe, so it’s easy to make without much special equipment or tools.

I do recommend you watch my other post about tips and techniques for the perfect pickle. It has all the information you need to make the perfect, crunchy batch of tasty pickles.

Click here for Perfect pickles

Before you get started making this recipe, make sure you take the time to soak your cucumbers at least 3 hours in ice cold water. This recipe has bell peppers and onions in it, and it calls for those to be soaked as well, but I just soaked my cucumbers and it came out great. And once they’re soaked, be sure to cut off the ends of the cucumbers before slicing them into your preferred shape. If you want to know why this is so important, be sure to watch the pickle tips video I mentioned earlier.

Add them to a sterilized jar in layers, with the peppers and onions, and sprinkle with the spices. If you’re using one large jar like me, stagger the layers so the spices and veggies are evenly distributed.

Boil apple cider vinegar, salt, and sugar in an enamel pot until the sugar and salt is completely dissolved. Be sure to use a pot that is safe for boiling acidic liquids. I have another post about what pot to use for making pickles if you want to know what it’s so important if you’re interested in why its important. Pour the boiling liquid into the jars to the top, covering the veggies, then seal the jar and let it come to room temperature before refrigerating for long term storage.

All done! Within a few hours, your pickles will be ready to eat, but they’re best enjoyed the next day. They are the perfect pickle to enjoy on all sorts of things, but I absolutely love these pickles most on a simple ham sandwich. I’m so grateful Mrs. Shoener shared this recipe in her community’s cookbook so we could appreciate it 50 years later. I hope you enjoy it enough that it encourages you to save more of these vintage spiral bound community cookbooks, and cook more old recipes.

KITCHENWARE USED IN THIS RECIPE

VINTAGE PYREX

Amish Butterprint from the 1950’s

Add it to your kitchen

STAUB DUTCH OVEN

Vinegary pickles require an enameled pot instead of raw cast iron.

WHY I USED IT

VINTAGE URANIUM GLASS

The most notorious vintage glassware ever crafted.

LEARN MORE ABOUT IT

Vintage Bread and Butter Pickles – Classic Sweet and Tangy Crunch

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Author:

Mrs. John A. Shoener In Three Rivers Cookbook, The Good Taste of Pittsburgh community cookbook

Servings

4 pts

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

The ultimate sandwich pickle packed with sweet, salty, tangy deliciousness.

Cook Mode

Ingredients

6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, unpeeled
1 green pepper
¼ cup salt
2 cups white sugar
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. mustard seed
½ tsp. celery seed (or more if desired)
2 bay leaves
2 cups cider vinegar

Directions

Combine cucumbers, onion, and green peppers. Cover with cold water in large bowl for 3 hours.
Combine sugar, salt, and vinegar in a pot, bring slowly to boiling point.
Drain the vegetables thoroughly in a colander and pack in sterilized jars with spices.
Pour the hot syrup over the vegetables.

Recipe Video

Recipe Note

✨Please note✨

The instructions above are as they appear in the cookbook. I try to make notes when something is unclear, an error, or missing altogether, but for the most part I leave it as is. That said, community cookbooks are, by their nature, often very brief in their instructions, so if you have any questions or need clarification, the video of me making it, should clear things up. Otherwise, drop me a comment below. I’m happy to help, and love hearing from you!

Enjoy this authentically homemade recipe, and thank you for appreciating it enough to give it a new life!

Cheers,

Ash Starling