Prepare three sterilised jars: a 1 litre / 33 oz jar for the whole cucumbers, a 750 ml / 25 oz jar for the cucumber spears, and a 180 ml / 6 oz jar for the cucumber slices (or thereabouts: essentially you want a large, medium and small jar)

Put 1 tablespoon of caster sugar in the 1 litre jar, ¾ of a tablespoon of caster sugar in the 750 ml jar, and one teaspoon of caster sugar in the 180 ml jar; then do the same with the sea salt, using the same measurements for each jar.

Pour approximately 150 ml of boiling water into the 1 litre jar, around 125 ml of boiling water into the 750 ml jar, and about 30 ml of boiling water into the 180 ml jar, stir each vigorously, starting with the largest jar to the smallest jar, until the sugar and salt have dissolved.

Distribute half the garlic cloves between the jars, two in each of the large jars, and one in the small jar, then use roughly the same ratio to distribute one tablespoon of black peppercorns and a tablespoon of mustard seeds between the three jars, and lastly, break up the fresh dill into large sprigs, and distribute half the dill between all three jars.

Starting with the largest jar, fill it with whole cucumbers until it’s jam-packed and you can’t squeeze another cucumber into the jar, and the cucumbers can’t move. Then move onto the second largest jar: slice enough whole cucumbers to fit the jar into four lengths or ‘spears’ per cucumber, then transfer the lengths to the jar, squeezing them in until you can’t fit anymore into the jar. Lastly, slice the remaining cucumbers into rounds and lay them in the jar.

Distribute the remaining garlic cloves, black peppercorns and mustard seeds between the three jars, using roughly the same ratio as before, and slide the remaining fresh dill sprigs down the side of the jars, saving some dill for the top of each jar.

Pour distilled vinegar into each jar so that the cucumbers are completely covered, then seal the jars and refrigerator. When the cucumbers and dill have changed colour from bring green to a khaki colour, they’ll be ready to eat, however, they’ll taste better the longer you leave them. We recommend a minimum of a week before opening them, and after opening they should be good for a month or so. Enjoy!