Nanny's 7 Day Sweet Pickles are super crispy and sweet! This easy to make, old fashioned recipe was always a favorite of mine. There is no heat required and is an excellent way to preserve summer's harvest!
I don't make pickles too often, but when I do, I will choose to make this recipe for Nanny's 7 Day Sweet Pickles or my Aunt Bonnie's Dill Pickle recipe. My mom used to make a bread and butter pickle that I like, but if I was asked my favorite sweet pickle, I wanted Nanny's super "green" pickle!
Cucumbers are a definite favorite in our house. Whether we eat them just sliced, in sandwiches, or pickled, they don't last long. I will often times slice a cucumber to put in Grumpy's lunch box, something he really enjoys eating. There is just something about the cooling, refreshing feeling you get from eating one!
For this recipe, there is absolutely no processing. The most "cooking" you will do is boiling the water and vinegar! No need to process these in a processor and if you want to can them to seal, you just do the hot water sterilization pack. However, you don't really need to do that because they will last in your fridge for a long time (if you don't eat them up in a week!).
You start by soaking the cucumbers in water. Then in alum water. The alum is what helps make these pickles keep their crispness. After the alum water comes the hot vinegar bath. They will sit a few days in the vinegar and pickling spices then you will add your sugar.
Once the sugar is added, you toss the cucumbers with the sugar and let it set a couple of hours then pack the pickles in jars, cover with syrup and if needed a little more vinegar (to top off).
This is probably the easiest pickle recipe out there to make and I love how green, crisp, vinegary, sweet, these pickles are, but most of all nostalgic. Bringing back days of my past and memories of Nanny.
Condiments
- Blackberry Lemon Thyme Syrup by Sunday Supper Movement
- Brinjal pickle (Indian eggplant relish/aubergine chutney) by Caroline’s Cooking
- Freezer Mixed Berry Puree by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Ginger Fig Jam by Palatable Pastime
- Herbed Salsa by What Smells So Good?
- Homemade Giardiniera by Curious Cuisiniere
- Homemade Sriracha by Monica’s Table
- Hot Pepper Oil by Feeding Big and more
- Mediterranean Chutney by Wholistic Woman
- Nanny’s 7-Day Sweet Pickles by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney by Food Lust People Love
- No Pectin Mixed Berry Jam by My Imperfect Kitchen
- Peach Butter by Redhead Baker
- Pear Ginger Jam by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Simple Basil Butter by Momma’s Meals
- Spicy Mango Jam by Family Foodie
- Stove Top Roasted Garlic by Cricket’s Confections
- Tomato and Chili Pepper Jam by Delaware Girl Eats
Main dishes
- Grilled Peach and Burrata Pizza by An Appealing Plan
- Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
- Tomato-Zucchini Pesto Flatbread with Chevre and Balsamic Drizzle by The Weekend Gourmet
Sides
- Garden Rice by Basic N Delicious
- Pickled Asian Vegetables by A Mind Full Mom
Snacks
- Homemade Fruit Leather by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apple Sauce by Books n’ Cooks
Dessert
- Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins by The Bitter Side of Sweet
- Drunken Peaches by Nosh My Way
- Freeze and Bake Blueberry Pie by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- How to Freeze Peaches and Make Peach Sauce by The Freshman Cook
- How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread by Asian In America
- Mom’s Zucchini Bread by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Peach Yogurt Popsicles by Food Done Light
- Summer Fruit Crisp by Pies and Plots
- Summer Fruit Popsicles by Powered By BLING
Beverage
- Berry Shrubs + A Cocktail by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Pin Nanny's 7-Day Sweet Pickles 
Nanny's 7 Day Sweet Pickles
Ingredients
- 10 lbs small cucumbers
- ¼ cup salt
- 3 tbsp alum
- 6 cups apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup pickling spice
- 4 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
Day 1:
- 1. Clean cucumbers and soak in ice cold water bath for 30 minutes. Drain cucumbers, trim ends then cut into thick chunks. Pack cucumbers in a gallon sized food safe jar. Cover with boiling water. Let sit 24 hours.
Day 2:
- Drain water from cucumber slices. Add salt. Pour boiling water over top of cucumbers and salt. Cover and let sit 24 hours.
Day 3:
- Drain cucumbers. Add alum. Pour boiling water over cucumbers to cover. Cover and let sit 24 hours.
Day 4:
- Drain cucumbers. Place pickling spice in cheesecloth tied with string to form purse. Place in jar with cucumbers. Bring cider vinegar to a boil. Pour over cucumbers. Let sit for 3 days. (Days 5-7)
Day 7:
- Drain cucumbers, reserving 2 cups vinegar. Remove cheesecloth with pickling spices and discard. Place cucumbers in large mixing bowl. Pour sugar over top and toss to coat cucumbers. Let sit for at least two hours.
- Pack pickles into hot sterilized jars. Pour juice from cucumbers over top of pickles. If you need a little more juice to cover pickles, pour some of the reserved vinegar over top to cover. Seal and store in refrigerator.
Constance Smith | Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Homemade pickles are the best!
Liz
These look just like what my mom used to make! My favorite kind of pickles!!
Renee @ReneesKitchenAdventures
I adore sweet pickles. I know I'd love these!! I've never used alum when I make pickles. I'll have to try that.
Beckie Bergeron
I have never made sweet pickles before. I will have to give these a try!
Cindys Recipes and Writings
I could eat a jar of these!
Kim
Do you refrigerate these at all prior to them being placed in their jars for storage?
Shelby
No, I don't refrigerate them until after you have an unsealed jar (if you hot pack to seal as instructed). So, once the jar is sealed, you can store these on your shelf until it is ready to open. If a jar did not seal, then you should refrigerate the unsealed jar. I hope this answered your question!
kathy Pressley Dills
Have you ever added onions to these? Like bread and butter pickles?
Shelby Law Ruttan
I have not. I love bread and butter pickles, but these 7 Day pickles have a distinctly different flavor to me. I'm not sure I would like onions in these pickles.
Jennifer
I cannot stand the taste of vinegar, how long do these need to sit before the sugar over takes most of the vinegar flavor?
Shelby
Hi Jennifer, there will still be a vinegar bite to the pickle, but it is a sweet bite.
Caro thompkins
I have made nanny’s seven day pickles and it is timeto put in jars. How do I seal the jars for these pickles
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Carol, these are hot packed into jars then stored in the refrigerator. If you want to store them on a shelf, I would sterilize the jars and lids, and hot pack. As the jars cool, the lid should seal (you will hear a pop). No need to process them in a canner.
Wendyrhea
Thank you for this recipe. It is the same one my momma and nanny used. I always called them nanny pickles. Lol at thanksgiving my nanny would promise me whatever was left in the pickle bowl if I ate a spoon of her dressing. I hated dressing! But I swallowed it so I could have my pickles. The sweet thing is nanny would always fill the bowl back up to the top with pickles for me. They were my special dessert. So far I have made 3 gallon jars. Wonder how long they will last me. Haha!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Wendy! Thank you for sharing this with me 🙂 It's heartwarming to hear someone else who had a Nanny as sweet as mine, and one who made the same pickles! I hope you enjoy them for a long time!! ˜Shelby
Tandy Willingham
I made these last week. I didn't have enough cucumbers from my garden & it's just my hubby & me so I cut the recipe in half. These are really good! My husband is not fond of sweet pickles but he likes these because they are not real sweet snd very crisp. Had enough to share with friends too. Thanks.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Th Tandy, so glad you made them and enjoyed them!! Thanks for stopping by to let me know.
Adrienne
Love your site (the popups not so much) Making Nanny's 7 Day Sweets. Just put vinegar in last night Whem you sY hot pack, you simply mean heat the jars? Not the syrup or reserved vinegar? And the hot jars and lids are enough to seal them? Thanks 😊
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Adrienne, thanks. When it comes time to pack them this is what I did last night as I made them myself: syrup from the cukes (there should be some from the sugar dissolving), add it to the vinegar solution and bring it to a boil. I also added the spice packet to the vinegar. I washed the jars and put them in a pan of hot water and kept them at a low simmer after the water boiled. I added the sealing lid also. When the vinegar was hot, I removed a jar from the hot water, filled it with as many pickles as I could and then poured the boiling vinegar over top. Place a hot sealing lid on the jar rim (after wiping the rim clean) and secure the screw cap. Then set them on a towel on your counter and cover with another towel. They should seal by the time they are cold. If not, I would process in a canner for 10 minutes or store any unsealed in the fridge. I hope this helps. I know I need to update this post which is why I was making the recipe myself this week. Feel free to reach out if you need more assistance. ˜Shelby (ps you shouldn't be getting the pop ups anymore, I had them removed from the site, if you do, please send me a screenshot via email of what you see and I will get my tech team on it. Thanks!)