Everywhere we were invited, the table had a plate of homemade, freshly pickled cucumbers from the garden. Sour to the taste, larger than a gherkin but smaller than a Lebanese cucumber, kilekotikurgid epitomise Estonian summer cuisine.
Lunch at a pub in Altja was fried herrings, boiled spuds and freshly pickled cucumbers washed down with a local pilsner-style beer. Delicious.
Asked how to make these two-hour pickles, a friend, Tuule, wrote, “There are an unlimited number of recipes for the cucumbers, and usually one correct way of making them fresh, and one for keeping them over winter for every family. In matters of taste, there can be no disputes.”
Tuule draws on an online recipe from the excellent Nami Nami website:
· 1 kg of small cucumbers
· 1 tbsp coarse salt, or salt flakes
· a dozen blackcurrant leaves
· a few sprigs of dill
· 5-6 cloves of garlic
· 1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
Wash the cucumbers, keep them in cold water for a while, cut off the ends, then lengthwise into halves or quarters. Chop the blackcurrant leaves, and slice the garlic, then add the salt, mustard seeds, and chopped dill stalks, and put into a plastic shopping bag (kilekott). Add the cucumbers and some water. Close the bag, and shake the contents well to mix. Place the bag in the fridge, turn it a few times while waiting, and they are ready to eat after a couple of hours.
Tuule says the freshly pickled cucumbers are available only in summer, along with black currant leaves and dill. At other times of the year Estonians use gherkins pickled in vinegar.
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