"we can pickle that"

asparagus and green beans with hot pickling liquid in the jars

Over the last few years, one of my summer rituals has been to make refrigerator pickles. They are simple, easy, and don't involve all the elaborate canning methods you would use if you wanted to store without refrigeration. I've made pickled dilly beans, carrot and sticks, baby asparagus, red onions, beets, and even cherry tomatoes.

The basic method for refrigerator pickling is to make a heated pickling liquid that's one part vinegar, one part water, plus seasonings- usually salt, spices, garlic, and sometimes herbs and chili peppers. The dilly bean brine, for example, includes water, vinegar, salt, mustard seed, black peppercorn, a garlic clove, fresh dill and a dried chili pepper. The brine for bread and butter pickles includes sugar, salt, onion, garlic, mustard seed, whole clove, celery seed and turmeric. Even though it's hard to ruin a pickle, some combinations of flavors work better than others. Best to check out some recipes beforehand, and by all means, adjust the seasonings to your taste.

after blanching, cold shock in ice water

pickling liquid with spices

Blanch the veggies in hot water for a couple minutes and cold shock in an ice bath, then place in a very clean jar with any herbs and spices. It's important to use a very clean jar, and it is recommended running in the dishwasher or washing in hot water with soap and air drying. When the pickling liquid is heated and the veggies are blanched and cold shocked, place the veggies and seasonings in the jar, and pour the hot pickling liquid over the veggies to cover them completely and fill the jar. Securely place lids on jars, let them cool to around room temperature, and place the filled, covered jars in the refrigerator.

Some veggies, such as sliced cucumbers, don't need blanching and can produce delicious pickles overnight. For other veggies, such as the beans and carrots, you may want to consider blanching first. It helps the pickling liquid permeate the vegetables. In most cases, you'll do well to give them a week before opening a jar. They can last several weeks, even months, and the pickling liquid is reusable- as long as it produces good tasting pickles. Just remember this method requires refrigeration. Do not try to store these pickles without refrigeration. Enjoy!