Cinnamon pickle rings are a southern favorite! With a spicy sweet taste, they are the perfect addition to your pickling plans this summer while the cucumbers are fresh.
When you live in the south, it seems you pickle all the things. Then, you find new ways to pickle the same things. These cinnamon pickle rings are a family favorite of ours and a recipe passed down through generations.
While I’ve been a part of a lot of pickling in my time, this was the first year that I pickled anything (besides a quick pickle salad) on my own. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for my moms hard work all those years.
Traditional pickling uses a mixture of vinegar, pickling spices and sometimes sugar. For these, you replace the pickling spices with cinnamon sticks and red hots to give them a spicy, sweet taste.
You can seal these in sterile jars using traditional canning methods. Or, put them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. My recipe makes a smaller amount than the original so I find the refrigerator method to work just fine.
Definitely try to make these when cucumbers are on the larger size for the season. It will make cutting the rings a whole lot easier than with a smaller cucumber.
My mom’s recipe takes a total of three days. But, I’m a total slacker so I condensed it down to one and a half days. I don’t think the taste was affected but she wasn’t impressed that I changed her recipe.
If you like these cinnamon pickle rings, be sure to try these other great pickle recipes:
Essential Items to Make this Recipe:
If you make these cinnamon pickle rings or any other recipe from the blog, I’d love to hear about your experience. Let me know in the comments or snap a photo and tag it #MySuburbanKitchen on Instagram or Twitter.
- 3-4 cucumbers
- 1/2 cup pickling lime
- 2 1/8 gallons water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 Tbsp alum
- 1/2 bottle red food coloring optional
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 cup red hots
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Peel and slice cucumbers 1/2" thick. Create ring by cutting out middle with melon baller. You will need 1/2 gallon of rings.
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In a large pot, combine 1/2 cup pickling lime with 2 1/8 gallons water. Stir until fully combined. Add cucumbers and soat for 24 hours. Drain and rinse well. Return cucumber rings to pot.
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Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 Tbsp alum and red food coloring, if using. Add to pot with cucumber rings. Then, add enough water to cover the cucumbers. Bring to boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Drain and discard liquid.
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In a large pot, heat 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 3 cups sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks and 1/2 cup red hots, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved. Turn off heat and add cucumber rings. Cover and let sit 2 hours.
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Transfer cucumber rings to jars. Add liquid about half full. Store in refrigerator or follow directions for preserving in jars.
1) I did not use food coloring in my recipe. It is optional.
2) The original recipe calls for letting the pickles soak in the final liquid overnight. Then, reheating the liquid and soaking again for another night. On the final morning, the liquid and cucumbers are reheated and then preserved in sterile jars.
Oh! I would love to try this. This looks really nice and interesting. Thank you for sharing this brilliant idea. Can’t wait to start making my own cinnamon pickle rings.
I’d like to try these and would like to can them. What are the instructions for canning? How long and what size jar?
Hi – Unfortuantely, I don’t have any experiencing with canning these. Here is a great article I found for canning. I usually store mine in pint or quart sized jars but you can choose whichever you prefer.
This is just like a recipe that my maternal grandmother made, I can’t wait to try it!
I started making the pickles and looking at making the sauce from the cinnamon and doesn’t look like enough water to cover the slices and fill the jars 1/2 full