How To Quick Pickle Any Vegetable
Cool, briny pickles straight from the fridge are one of the simplest pleasures of summer. Quick pickling is also a brilliant solution for preserving a plethora of vegetables from the market or your garden.
What Is a Quick Pickle?
Quick pickles are also known as refrigerator pickles. They are simply vegetables that are pickled in a vinegar, water, and salt (sometimes sugar, too) solution and stored in the refrigerator.
Quick pickles don’t develop the deep flavor that fermented pickles do, but they also only require a few days in the brine before they can be enjoyed. Quick pickles also do not require canning when refrigerated.
Get the basics: Easiest Refrigerator Pickles
The Key to the Best Quick Pickles
Pickling is best done with super-fresh vegetables. Save the slightly bruised specimens for soups or other forms of preservation. Almost any vegetable can be pickled, and the shape you choose to pickle in is entirely up to you.
For example, carrots can be peeled and sliced into matchsticks or coins. Cherry tomatoes are best preserved whole. If you’re using green vegetables — to make, for example, green bean pickles or zucchini pickles — you can blanch vegetables first in boiling water for two to three minutes and then shock them in an ice bath to preserve their color, but this step is purely optional.
Preparing Vegetables for Pickling
- Thinly slice: cucumbers, summer squash, ginger, red onion
- Cut into spears: carrots, cucumbers
- Peel: carrots
- Blanch: green beans (optional, but helps preserve their color)
Brine Basics
For quick pickles, a basic brine is equal parts vinegar and water, but you can adjust the ratio to your preference. Any basic vinegar is game — white vinegar, apple cider, white wine, and rice vinegar all work well. You can use these vinegars alone or in combination. Steer clear of aged or concentrated vinegars like balsamic or malt vinegar for pickling.
Customized Pickle Flavors
The secret to a really unique, flavorful pickle is in the spices you add to the brine. Dill pickles are nothing more than cucumbers flavored with garlic, dill seed, and red pepper flakes. Carrots become more exotic when pickled with coriander, ginger, turmeric, and thyme.
Other classic combinations include green beans with garlic and fresh dill, cherry tomatoes with black peppercorns and garlic, and squash with onion and garlic.
Flavoring Quick Pickles
- Fresh herbs: dill, thyme, oregano, and rosemary hold up well
- Dried herbs: thyme, dill, rosemary, oregano, or majoram
- Garlic cloves: smashed for mild garlic flavor, or sliced for stronger garlic flavor
- Fresh ginger: peeled and thinly sliced
- Whole spices: mustard seed, coriander, peppercorns, red pepper flakes
- Ground spices: turmeric or smoked paprika are great for both color and flavor
How To Quick Pickle Any Vegetable
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 5 minutes
Makes 2 pint jars
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 pound
fresh vegetables, such as cucumbers, carrots, green beans, summer squash, or cherry tomatoes
- 2 sprigs
fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill, or rosemary (optional)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons
whole spices, such as black peppercorns, coriander, or mustard seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon
dried herbs or ground spices (optional)
- 2 cloves
garlic, smashed or sliced (optional)
- 1 cup
vinegar, such as white, apple cider, or rice
- 1 cup
water
- 1 tablespoon
kosher salt, or 2 teaspoons pickling salt
- 1 tablespoon
granulated sugar (optional)
Equipment
Chef's knife and cutting board
- 2
wide-mouth pint jars with lids
Canning funnel (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the jars. Wash 2 wide-mouth pint jars, lids, and rings in warm, soapy water and rinse well. Set aside to dry, or dry completely by hand.
Prepare the vegetables. Wash and dry the vegetables. Peel the carrots. Trim the end of beans. Cut vegetables into desired shapes and sizes.
Add the flavorings. Divide the herbs, spices, or garlic you are using between the jars.
Add the vegetables. Pack the vegetables into the jars, making sure there is a 1/2 inch of space from the rim of the jar to the tops of the vegetables. Pack them in as tightly as you can without smashing.
Make the brine. Place the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar (if using) in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour the brine over the vegetables, filling each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top. You might not use all the brine.
Remove air bubbles. Gently tap the jars against the counter a few times to remove all the air bubbles. Top off with more brine if necessary.
Seal the jars. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the rings until tight.
Cool and refrigerate. Let the jars cool to room temperature. Store the pickles in the refrigerator. The pickles will improve with flavor as they age — try to wait at least 48 hours before cracking them open.
Recipe Notes
Storage: These pickles are not canned. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. If you process and can the jars, they can be stored at room temperature unopened.