Fresh refrigerator pickles (cucumber and onion, with pickled peppers and carrot-cauliflower-bell pepper variations)
The Culinary Institute of America · 24 min video
Read about cucumbers in the BrightCulinary Book
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Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 3 cup water
- 3 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 3 tbsp salt
Combine the water, apple cider vinegar and sugar in a pan; add the salt and stir.
Making the pickling liquid
Bring to a gentle simmer, almost a boil, just until the sugar and salt dissolve.
- rough chopped fresh garlic
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- fresh jalapeno
- Persian cucumber
Add the chopped garlic, black peppercorns and jalapeno; let them steep as the liquid cools.
- Spanish onions
Slice the cucumbers into thin chips about a quarter inch thick.
Slice the onion about a quarter inch thick, cutting at an angle following its contours.
- 1 tsp salt
Toss the cucumbers and onions with about a teaspoon of salt in a colander set in a bowl; let sit 25 to 30 minutes.
Rinse, pat dry, lay out on a sheet tray lined with paper towel and refrigerate a while to dry.
Take the pickling liquid off the heat; chill it in the fridge or cool it uncovered to room temperature so it does not wilt or cook the vegetables.
Cooling the pickling liquid
- red bell peppers
- carrot sticks
Pack the cucumbers and onions into a glass container.
- cauliflower
Variation: pickled peppers with jalapenos and red bell peppers; or red bell pepper, carrot batonnet and cauliflower, the dense carrots and cauliflower blanched ahead so they are not too crunchy.
Ladle the liquid over the vegetables, aromatics included, leaving space at the top for the lid; refrigerate. Ready in about 4 to 6 hours; keeps about a week in the refrigerator.