Bread and Butter Pickles

The name “Bread and Butter Pickles” has at least two different origin stories. One is that during the Great Depression, people put them between slices of buttered bread because they had no other options for sandwich fillings. A second story has a couple making pickles from the small cucumbers on their farm and trading them for bread and butter. Both stories make me think of the sandwiches my grandmother made for us—slices of white bread spread with mustard and filled with sliced red onion, also from the Depression era.

This recipe is known in my family as “Leona’s” and is a friend’s family recipe, several generations old, originating from the Midwest. I make them using Lemon Cucumbers, even though traditional “pickling cucumber” varieties have fewer seeds. They are easy to make, no canning needed—simply store them in the refrigerator.

I like adding bread and butter pickles to grilled cheese sandwiches, and enjoy them alongside just about anything, from fried chicken to hamburgers.