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Homemade Pickling Spice is easy to mix together with whole spices you may already have in your pantry. Making your own blend lets you adjust the flavors to suit your taste, and it's often less expensive than buying a premade mix.
I use this blend for homemade pickles, green tomato relish, and even homemade venison pastrami. Once you have a batch mixed up, you'll be surprised at how often you reach for it.
Why Make Your Own Pickling Spice?
It's easy to grab a jar of pickling spice at the grocery store, and if you only use it once in a while, that may be the simplest option. But if you make pickles, relish, or other preserved foods every year, those little jars can add up.
I started making my own after going through store-bought pickling spice faster than I expected. Mixing my own costs less, and I can adjust the blend to include more of the spices I love and leave out the ones I don't. Since every store-bought blend is a little different, making your own gives you complete control over the flavor.
Spices needed for pickling spice
- Mustard seeds
- Coriander seeds
- Allspice
- Cloves
- Black peppercorns
- Cinnamon stick
- Bay leaves
- Dried pepper - I used guajillo pepper, although any dried red chile pepper will work
- Ground ginger
How to create pickling spice
- Combine all seeds and ground ginger together in a bowl
- Crush or snip bay leaves and dried pepper into small bits
- Crush the cinnamon stick. I place the cinnamon stick in a bag and then bang a meat mallet or rolling pin on the cinnamon stick.
- Mix everything together and store in an airtight container until ready to use
Variations
Because every pickling spice recipe has a bit of variety, this gives you some room to add or subtract different spices. You'll want to keep the mustard seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and pepper as the base.
Some additional spices to add include:
- Dill seed
- Star anise
- Juniper berries
You can also adjust the amount of spices in this recipe. Add another cinnamon stick or a couple more bay leaves.
Each time you make this mixture, play around with the ingredients and find your perfect blend.
Recipe Faqs
Stored in an airtight container, pickling spice will last for several years. As long as it stays dry, it won't go bad, but the intensity of the flavors may begin to diminish.
More homemade spice blends
If you like making your own blends, you'll also want to check out these recipes:
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Pickling Spice Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole allspice
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 bay leaves (dried)
- 1 guajillo pepper (or other dried red pepper, 5 inches)
- 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
Instructions
- Place all seed and ground ginger in a bowl2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 2 teaspoons whole allspice, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, ½ teaspoon whole cloves, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Use kitchen scissors to cut bay leaves and guajillo pepper into small bits and add to spices2 bay leaves, 1 guajillo pepper
- Crush cinnamon stick and add to spices1 cinnamon stick
- Mix everything together and place in an airtight container
Notes
- Dill seed
- Star anise
- Juniper berries
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Valentina says
I love homemade spice blends and this is one I know I'd use quite often. I also think it just looks so pretty. Time to get a big jar! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kathy says
It smells really good while blending it all together too!
Dawn says
Nothing like homemade spice blends, though I've never thought about making pickling spice! What a great idea! I love how I could mix things up with some spice add-ins, too.
David @ Spiced says
What an awesome idea, Kathy! I've always just purchased pickling spice at the store, and I've never thought about making my own. However, I have all of those ingredients in my spice cabinet already - next time, I'm going homemade!
Kathy says
We were the same way, but so easy to make your own!