You Need Quick Pickles In Your Life
When summer comes around, I go a little crazy at the farmerâs market. We have a short growing season here in Colorado. So I try to take advantage of it while I can! And that all means I always end up with way more produce than I know what to do with. Itâs a problem. đŹ
Enter one of my favorite chef-y things to do: quick pickles. Theyâre kind of a big dill đ. You might also hear them called ârefrigerator picklesâ, or if you hang out with my wife, âquicklesâ. Whatever you call them, we are diving in. So crack open a jar. Weâre going to talk about why theyâre great and how you can make them!
Iâm not talking about long-term preservation or canning. That, my friends, is out of my level of expertise. Check out this article if youâre interested in the science behind acid as a form of preservation and a guide for how to do it.
Why Should We Quick Pickle?
Oh let me tell you the ways...
- Pickling vegetables prolongs their life. Acid prevents bacterial growth. That means you have more time to enjoy your produce before it goes bad. â ïž
- Youâve got options! You can pickle more than just the cukes from your garden. Radishes, peppers, carrots, onions, green beans, beets, and even cauliflower are all delicious pickled.
- Pickles add brightness to any dish. The flavors are cleaner, crisper, and more balanced when you add acid. And pickles soak up the perfect amount of acid. This is reason #1 pickles are my favorite garnish.
- Pickles add texture. Pickles are tender yet crunchy. And this change in texture makes food more exciting to eat. This is reason #2 pickles are my favorite garnish.
- Pickles are versatile. They arenât just for sandwiches and garnishes. Throw pickled cabbage into a soup as it simmers instead of raw. Pickled carrots can go right into a stir fry along with your other veg. Pickled beets are a beautiful way to make salads more substantial. So treat them like any other slightly âcookedâ vegetable.
- Quick pickling is so easy a caveman could do it. (Yes, I do mean only cavemen. We all know the cavewomen were more capable than the men. đ) There is no intense sterilization process or canning or other hassle-filled things when you do ânormalâ pickling.
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How to Quick Pickle
There are three main components to a quick pickle:
- Brine: The brine is the liquid that we soak the veggies in. Itâs got a good amount of acid in it to add some tanginess and prolong the life of the veggies. Since we arenât using the fermentation process to add flavor, we want to make sure our brine is tasty.
- Vegetables: Like I mentioned before, you can pickle just about any vegetable. But hereâs what you want to keep in mind. The size and cut of the vegetables will change the flavor and texture. You can pickle whole radishes, but they might need a few days in the brine before they are ready to eat. Consider quartering the radish if you want to add a hardy crunch to a salad. Or thinly slice the radish if you want to add some tangy texture to tacos. đź Be thoughtful about how you cut your veggies for pickling based on the time youâve got and the texture you want.
- Time: Quick pickles are ready to eat when you think theyâre ready to eat. Some may take longer based on their size and density. Others might just need a few hours. You can even speed up the process by using a brine made entirely of vinegar. I often do that when I decide at the last minute to make tacos and want pickled red onions.
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Making the Brine
Acid is the most important part of your brine. So the first step is to pick a vinegar. While any vinegar will do the job, each type will impart its own signature on your pickles. White wine vinegar is the most neutral. Red wine vinegar will turn your veggies a shade of pink. Rice vinegar is mild and adds some sweetness. Apple cider vinegar adds fruitiness. Lemon and lime juice work as well and are quite flavorful.
Next, we talk about proportions. Most recipes out there call for 1 part vinegar to 1 part water. That gives you a really nice tang. But Joshua McFadden said it well in the Six Seasons cookbook, âLow acid and always a touch of sweetness will allow you to taste the vegetable, not just the brine.â He does 0.5 part vinegar to 1.5 parts water. Personally, I like lots of tang. But I also want to taste more than vinegar. So Iâm in the 0.5 parts vinegar to 1 part water camp myself. đ
Then come the seasonings. Like I mentioned before, we want this brine to be flavorful. Salt is essential for seasoning everything in the kitchen. 1 tablespoon for 2 cups of liquid is a good starting point. And sugar balances the acidity. Lots of recipes call for a boatload of sugarâlike a cup. I typically use about 3-5 tablespoons per 2 cups of liquid so it isnât overly sweet.
Whole spices and hardy herbs will add flavor too. I recommend toasting the whole spices to extract more flavor. I love coriander seeds for their citrus flavor. I frequently use mustard seeds and peppercorns too. Since spices are fat-soluble and thereâs no fat in the brine, we want to maximize flavor. And toasting does that. Then come the herbs. More delicate herbs like basil or mint wonât hold up over time in the brine. Iâd recommend using hardy herbs like thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, and cilantro stems.
And donât forget about other aromatics like garlic, ginger, and dried chile peppers! đ¶đ§ Smash the garlic and ginger before adding them to the pot. Breaking their cell walls will make their flavor more potent. As for the chile, Iâd toast them first! They will add earthy, fruity, and/or smoky flavors to your pickles.
To bind all these elements together, youâll want to add the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and other seasonings/aromatics to a pot. Then bring it all up to a gentle simmer. Make sure to stir well. Once the sugar and salt dissolve fully, itâs ready!
Assembling the Pickles
The hard part is over! Cut up your vegetables however youâd like them. Then add them to a jar or container. Youâll want to take out any of the large seasonings like thyme sprigs or smashed garlic from the brine and add them to the jar too. That will help prevent spillage. Lastly, youâll pour your brine over the vegetables. Youâll want the vegetables to be entirely covered to reduce the amount of bacterial growth.
There is one more thing to consider. Should the brine be hot when you add it to the vegetables? Or should you let it cool down first? Hereâs how I think about it. How much softening do the veggies need? Letâs bring it back to our radishes. If you leave them whole, Iâd probably pour the hot brine over them. This lets them âcookâ for a bit and soften. If the radish is thinly sliced though, Iâd let the brine cool down first. This makes sure they stay crisp and donât turn soggy.
And Now We Wait!
Once the vegetables are covered in the brine and everything has cooled down, throw them in the fridge. Depending on the thickness of the vegetable, they may need about 24 to 72 hours before they are just right. But it wonât hurt if you use them before that.
Just remember this. Since we didnât actually process them, theyâll need to stay in the fridge for their entire lives. And while itâs not as long as canned pickles, theyâll still last about a month.
I promise you this. If you make a jar of quick pickles and start adding them to some of your favorite dishes, youâll be wowed. From soups to pasta to tacos, these pickled vegetables will change your home cooking...For the better I mean. I just wanted to clarify that. đ
Have any questions? A favorite way to make pickles? Please respond to this email and let me know!
Luciano đšâđł
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