Quick Refrigerator Pickles
An endless summer supply of crunchy quick pickles; make the brine once and refill with fresh cucumbers all season long. Note: I use leftover jam/jelly jars for my pickle batches, but Weck or Mason jars are certainly prettier—just be sure to keep them in the fridge; these are not a “shelf-stable” pickle.
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup natural cane sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 cups cold water
- 4 thin cucumbers preferably home-grown
- 1 small onion or shallot
- 1 tablespoon prepared “pickling spices”*
- 1 big pinch dried chili flakes or more, if you like spicy pickles
- 4 –5 big sprigs fresh dill preferably from the garden, with flowers/seeds if possible
Instructions
- In a small saucepan heat the vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until everything’s dissolved and clear. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Slice the cucumbers on a mandoline—¼-inch slices work best, but if you like a very thin pickle, feel free to slice thinner. Thinly slice the onion from stem end to stem end and toss to break apart the shards. Add the cold water to the brine.
- Fill your jar (or jarwith cukes, onions, pickling spices, and dill, layering them to evenly distribute.
- Pour the cooled brine over the vegetables and close the lid. Chill in the fridge overnight; the pickles are now ready to eat.
- When the jar is nearly empty, fish out the last few cukes and onions to snack on but leave the spices and brine in the jar. Slice up more cucumbers and onions, pluck some more dill sprigs and add to the brine. Refrigerate overnight to “cure,” then repeat when this batch is gone.
Notes
*Pickling spices are a blend of coriander seeds, whole allspice, peppercorns, mixed yellow + brown mustard seed, crumbled dry bay leaf.