Paradox Spicy Pickles
Spicy pickles usually add hot pepper slices to the brine. These pickles ARE the hot pepper. Paradox cucumbers at 5,000 SHU, quick-pickled in dill brine — the heat is in every bite, not just the occasional chili flake.
Prep
15 min
Cook
0 min
Total
24 hr
Servings
16
Peak SHU
5K
Featured Organisms
Ingredients
- 4 Paradox cucumbers (SS-CUC-02), sliced into spears or coins
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
Instructions
- 1
Pack cucumber slices tightly into clean jars with garlic, dill, mustard seeds, and peppercorns.
- 2
Bring vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a boil. Stir until dissolved.
- 3
Pour hot brine over cucumbers to cover.
- 4
Seal and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
- 5
Pickles improve over 3–5 days. Keeps refrigerated 2 months.
Tips
- Contradiction cucumbers (50K SHU) for a fiery pickle.
- The brine becomes spicy too — use it in cocktails or salad dressings.
Pickling doesn't destroy capsaicin. Over time, capsaicinoids leach from the cucumber into the brine, creating equilibrium. After 5 days, the brine is approximately 40% as hot as the cucumber flesh.