Quick pickles
Quick pickles do not ferment — vinegar does all the work in a single day. They will not replace proper fermented cucumbers, but they offer what fermented ones cannot: crunch, controlled sweetness and the option of making them in twenty minutes from whatever is in the fridge.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Slicing the vegetables 15 min
- Boiling the brine 5 min
- Cooling 60 min
- Pickling in the fridge 1380 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneScald the jars
Wash two jars of about 500 ml and scald them with boiling water or put them in a 120°C oven for 10 minutes. Pickles are not pasteurised, so jar cleanliness decides how long they keep.
Ingredients: 2 pcs cucumbers · 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs carrots · 1 pcs fresh chilli
Slice the vegetables thinly
Cut the cucumbers into 4 mm slices, the onion into thin slivers and the carrots into batons or rounds. The thinner the slices, the faster the brine penetrates — thick pieces need several days instead of one.
Ingredients: 2 pcs cucumbers · 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs carrots · 1 pcs fresh chilli
TipCut off and discard the blossom end of the cucumber — it contains an enzyme that softens pickles.
Thin slices of even thickness — the brine works evenly.Pack the jars
Pack the vegetables into the jars tightly but without crushing, layering in the garlic, dill and chilli. Leave 2 cm of headspace.
Ingredients: 2 pcs cucumbers · 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs carrots · 1 pcs fresh chilli
Boil the brine
Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, mustard seeds and peppercorns to the boil, stirring to dissolve. Boil 2 minutes and immediately pour the boiling brine over the vegetables to cover. Seal.
Ingredients: 250 ml wine vinegar · 250 ml water · 60 g sugar · 1 tbsp salt · 2 tsp mustard seeds · 1 tsp peppercorns · ½ bunch dill · 3 cloves garlic
TipHot brine gives softer pickles, cold brine crunchier ones but needs 3 days.
The boiling brine must cover every vegetable.Cool and chill
Leave the jars on the counter for an hour until cool, then refrigerate. After 24 hours the pickles are ready; after three days they are at their best. They keep a month in the fridge.
Ingredients: 2 pcs cucumbers · 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs carrots · 1 pcs fresh chilli
Before you start
Universal ratio
Remember 1 : 1 vinegar to water plus a tablespoon of salt and 60 g of sugar per half litre. Any firm vegetable fits it.
What else to pickle
Cauliflower, radish, green beans and kohlrabi all work well. Blanch harder vegetables for 2 minutes before pouring.
Do not pasteurise
These pickles are for the fridge. Pasteurising takes away much of the crunch you make them for.