Pickling Spice Blend: What's in It & How to Make Your Own
Pickling Spice Blend: What's in It & How to Make Your Own
Pickling spice is a whole-spice blend of mustard seed, coriander, allspice, and bay. Here's the classic mix, the ratios, and how much to use.
What Is Pickling Spice?
Pickling spice is a coarse blend of whole spices designed to flavor brines for cucumbers, beets, onions, carrots, green beans, and more. Unlike a ground rub, every ingredient stays whole or lightly cracked, so flavor releases slowly into the liquid over days or weeks instead of turning the brine cloudy. Most jars share the same backbone: mustard seed, coriander seed, allspice, bay leaf, black peppercorns, and cloves, often with a little dried chili or cinnamon.
There is no single standard recipe, which is exactly why making your own is worthwhile. Commercial jars can sit on shelves for a long time, and their crumbled bay leaf often tastes dusty. A homemade blend from fresh whole spices lets you control the heat, the sweetness, and the balance between sharp mustard and warm allspice.
What Goes Into Classic Pickling Spice
Each spice in the blend has a job. Understanding those jobs makes it easy to adjust the mix to your own taste and to whatever you are pickling.
Mustard seeds: Yellow mustard seeds are the backbone. They add a clean, tangy bite, soften as they sit in the brine, and give the jar its classic speckled look.
Coriander seeds: Coriander seeds bring a citrusy, lightly floral sweetness that rounds off the sharpness of vinegar. They are the quiet team player that keeps brines balanced rather than harsh.
Allspice: Allspice berries deliver warm notes reminiscent of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg in one ingredient, which is why they appear in nearly every traditional recipe.
Bay leaves: Whole bay leaves add a subtle, savory, herbal depth. Crumble them by hand just before mixing so the oils stay fresh.
Black peppercorns and cloves: whole peppercorns add a gentle, lingering heat, while whole cloves contribute a deep, sweet-warm aroma. Use cloves sparingly, since a few go a long way.
Optional extras: red chili flakes, a cinnamon stick, dried ginger, or dill seed let you steer the blend toward spicy, sweet, or herbal.
Homemade Pickling Spice in Five Minutes
This everyday blend works for cucumbers, red onions, beets, carrots, and green beans. It makes enough for roughly eight to ten quart jars, and it scales up easily if you pickle in bulk during harvest season.
Everyday Pickling Spice Blend
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves, crumbled
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces
Method
- Lightly crack the coriander and allspice with the flat of a knife so they release more flavor
- Optional: toast the mustard and coriander in a dry pan for one minute, then cool completely
- Combine everything in a bowl and stir well
- Transfer to an airtight jar and label with the date
- Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per quart jar
If you want to learn the toasting technique in more detail, our guide to toasting and grinding whole spices walks through it step by step.
Sweet, Spicy, and Dill-Style Variations
Start with the base blend above, then nudge it in the direction of the pickle you have in mind. Small changes make a noticeable difference after a few days in the jar.
Dill-style cucumbers
Double the mustard seeds and coriander, skip the cinnamon, and add 1 tablespoon of dill seed. The result is crisp, savory, and classic deli-style.
Sweet bread-and-butter
Keep the allspice and cloves, add the cinnamon stick, and reduce the chili flakes. The warm spices pair well with a sugar-forward brine.
Spicy green beans
Triple the chili flakes and add an extra teaspoon of black peppercorns. Pair with fresh garlic for a bold, snappy snack.
Winter beets and onions
Lean into allspice and clove, and add a few strips of dried ginger. The warm, almost mulled character suits earthy root vegetables.
Tip: make a small test batch first. Pickle a single jar, taste it after three days, and write down what you would change before mixing a big batch.
How Much Pickling Spice to Use
A reliable starting point is 1 to 2 tablespoons of blend per quart jar, or about 2 teaspoons per pint. Use the lower end when you want a quiet background flavor and the higher end for a bold, deli-style brine. Because the spices are whole, you can add them straight into the jar before pouring in the liquid.
If you prefer a clean-looking jar, tie the spices in a small cheesecloth sachet and simmer it in the brine for a few minutes, then remove it before filling. This works especially well when you are making a large batch in a pot and want consistent flavor across every jar.
Flavor develops gradually. Refrigerator pickles taste good after a day or two, but they hit their stride after about a week, once the mustard and allspice have fully infused the liquid. The vinegar and salt ratios matter far more than the spice blend for safety and texture, so always follow a tested recipe, particularly if you plan to can for shelf storage. The spices are there for flavor, and the tested brine does the structural work.
Storage and Uses Beyond Pickles
Store your blend in an airtight jar in a cool, dark cupboard away from the stove. Because every ingredient is whole, the mix keeps its aroma far longer than a ground blend would. Crush a few pieces between your fingers once in a while: if the scent is still vivid, the blend is good to go.
Braises and brines: add a tablespoon to the pot when simmering corned beef, pot roast, or pork shoulder.
Seafood boils: a spoonful in the water gives shrimp and crab a gentle, aromatic backbone.
Sauerkraut and slaws: toss a teaspoon into fermenting cabbage or a vinegar-based slaw for extra depth.
Gift idea: pack the blend into small jars with a handwritten label and usage note. It makes a thoughtful present for anyone who cans or pickles.
Shop the Spices for Your Pickling Blend
Non-GMO · Packed Fresh in McKinney, Texas
