Dill Pickled Carrots
Makes: 1 quart (about 1 L) jar
Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
1 cup (240 mL) white vinegar, 5% acidity
1 cup (240 mL) water
1½ tbsp kosher salt
No sugar
3–4 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
4–6 fresh dill sprigs (or 2 tsp dill seed)
1 tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp mustard seeds, optional
¼–½ tsp red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
Prepare the brine: Combine vinegar, water, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the salt dissolves.
Pack the jar: Add garlic, dill, peppercorns, and any optional spices to a clean jar. Pack in the carrot sticks.
Add the brine: Pour the hot brine over the carrots until they're fully submerged, leaving about ½ inch of headspace.
Cool and refrigerate: Let cool, seal, and place in the refrigerator.
Let the flavour develop: Taste after 24 hours, but give them 3–5 days for a stronger dill and garlic flavour.
Keep refrigerated and use within 3–4 weeks. These are not shelf-stable canned pickles.
A few tricks for getting that proper dill pickle flavour
Use fresh dill: It gives a more recognizable dill-pickle aroma. You can use both fresh dill and dill seed for a stronger, more layered flavour.
Don't skimp on the garlic: Four cloves will give you a nice savoury garlic-dill profile.
Skip the sugar entirely: You don't need it for flavour or preservation in this refrigerator-pickle recipe.
For extra crunch: Keep the carrots raw before adding the brine, and refrigerate them promptly.
One thing to keep in mind: Even without sugar, carrots have natural sugars, so they'll still taste a little sweet compared with dill pickles made from cucumbers. The vinegar, salt, garlic, and dill will balance that nicely.
My recommendation: no sugar, 4–6 sprigs of fresh dill, and 4 cloves of garlic. That should get you much closer to a savoury deli-style dill flavour rather than a sweet pickled carrot.
