This is a really quick recipe for making pickled vegetables that are great for adding to salads or using as an accent side dish or garnish. I commonly use radishes, red onions, beets, cucumbers, and fennel, but you can try the recipe with any vegetable you like.
Recipe Notes:
This recipe is for making refrigerator pickles, so once made they must be kept refrigerated and will be good for a few weeks. This is not a canning recipe.
The recipe requires a 32 oz canning jar with lid.
I recommend using a food processor or mandoline slicer to quickly make consistently thin slices.
Since vegetables come in different sizes, the quantity is really just to get close to filling your jar. I have found that 3 bunches of radishes, 2-3 cucumbers, 2-3 red onions, or 1-2 fennel bulbs work about right. And if you have too many vegetables sliced, just start a second jar.
This recipe scales in size. The desired amount of vegetables determines the amount of brining liquid you will need to fully submerge the vegetables, and the overall volume determines the size and number of canning jars you will need. The important ratio is 1 teaspoon of salt per cup of liquid.
Ingredients
3-4 cups vegetables
Brining liquid:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
optional additions: red pepper flakes, black peppercorns, garlic cloves, fennel seed, whole mustard seeds, coriander seed, orange peel (strips peeled with a vegetable peeler to limit the amount of pith)
Instructions
Clean vegetables
Slice thin
Place vegetables in a 32 oz canning jar (The vegetables should be loose packed in the jar, and the brining liquid will then fill in the gaps.)
Combine apple cider vinegar and water in pot
Bring to boil then immediately remove from heat
Add salt, sugar, and any desired additional ingredients
Stir until salt and sugar have completely dissolved
Pour mixture over vegetables until completely submerged
Close jar with canning lid
Let cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator
Vegetables can be enjoyed in as little as 3 hours
Additional Notes:
I have given some suggested optional ingredients, but the reality is that I rarely use them. The orange peel is particularly nice when pickling fennel, and the red chili flakes are good if you want to add heat to any pickle. Otherwise I tend to just enjoy the flavor of the chosen vegetable.
This recipe can be used for larger pieces of vegetables, but you won’t be able to enjoy them as quickly. For bigger chunks you will need 24-48 hours of time in the refrigerator before being able to enjoy your pickles.