Updated: January 24, 2024

When I originally posted this, it was a recipe for a cute cucumber pickle, but that felt too restrictive. I’ve updated this recipe to focus on the brine so that you can add whatever you want as the pickling vegetable.

This brine will make crunchy, sweet, sour, and perfectly acidic pickles that can be ready in a few hours. I love the brightness and pops of tang these beauties add to bites of food.

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Recipe Type: Quick and Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the brine

1 cup water

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon whole peppercorns

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 green chili pepper (like serrano or jalapeno) stem removed

Optional: a bayleaf, sprig of thyme, rosemary, dill, or any other green herb you have on hand

For the pickles

2-3 cups of thinly sliced produce for the pickles: beets, cucumber, radish, onions, shallots, carrots, etc.

Equipment

Paring knife, chefs knife, cutting board

Mandoline (optional)

Small pot

1 quart jar and lid

Add 1 cup of water, ½ cup of apple cider and white vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt into a small saucepan and bring up to a boil. Keep an eye on the brine while you prep your vegetables. If the brine comes to a boil before you’ve finished prepping your vegetables, simply turn off the heat and leave on the stove until you need it.
While the brine is heating, prep your vegetables. Wash, peel, and thinly slice your pickling vegetables and place into a quart sized mason jar.
To the mason jar add ½ a teaspoon of coriander seeds and black pepper, three cloves of garlic, green chili pepper, and a sprig of herbs if you’re using.
Pour the hot brine into the mason jar over the vegetables making sure all the vegetables are submerged in the brine.
Let cool for an hour uncovered. Cover with lid and place into your fridge. The pickles will be ready to eat after a couple of hours.
They will be good to enjoy for about a week. Make sure to put a date on the jar to know when you made your pickles.

Party trick

You can reuse the pickling brine. After one week, strain the brine, compost the old veggies, and bring the brine up to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt and another tablespoon of sugar, and boil for at least one minute. Fill a fresh jar with veggies and pour over. I wouldn’t recommend recyling the bring past one more boil, it will become too diluted.

Enjoy!