Quick Pickles
This is a simple recipe to pickle just about anything. It’s fairly hard to mess up a pickle, with the rare exception of an odd spice combo. I call these quick pickles because they are 1) quick to make and 2) last only a week or two max in your fridge. I can’t be fussed with the formal jarring process that would allow you to sterilize, seal, and store your pickles for many months - I just get in the habit of remaking these as needed.
Pickling is a great way to use up extra veggies, an excess of random things like carrots, and to always have pickled red onions on hand, which no one has ever regretted. They’re great to put on eggs, throw in salads, or just eat solo as the mood strikes.
I like apple cider vinegar for most things, especially red onions, but white vinegar is also good for a more traditional dill pickle.
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Proportions here depend on how many jars you’re trying to fill, but when in doubt, make a large saucepan of pickling liquid and distribute throughout. If you’re making a lot, increase the salt and sugar accordingly. If you just want a small batch of pickles to eat in a meal you’re cooking now, like red onions over eggs for instance, you can just mix the pickling liquid with warm water in a bowl, add the veg, and let sit for 1 hour before draining and serving.
2 parts vinegar, like Apple Cider or White Vinegar, to 1 part warm water, resulting in enough total liquid to fill your pickling containers
1/2 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar per jar of pickling you are making
Pickling vegetables such as red onions, white onions, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, fennel, radishes, beets, or whatever is in season
Optional herbs and spices such as fresh dill flowers, dill, whole coriander seeds, whole black peppercorns, whole fennel seeds, whole mustard seeds, whole sprigs of fresh thyme from a rooty bunch
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Thoroughly clean and dry jars for pickling.
Heat vinegar, water, salt and sugar until dissolved over low heat.
Slice pickling vegetables to your desired shapes and sizes, depending on your jars, peeling things like carrots as well. I like using a mandolin to do my red onions thin and uniform.
Pack vegetables in jars with desired spices. For cucumber pickles, stick to dill and fennel flavors.
Fill jars with pickling liquid to brim, let cool, and close and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
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