Fridge Pickles

Take a clean jar and pack them with your pickles. I like to try and keep pickles whole , but chunk or slice them if you prefer, or to make them fit better. Add cold water almost to the very top. Drain the water out into a large measuring cup or pitcher. Pour off half the water and replace it with vinegar. Note how much liquid you now have, in milliliters, and put in a saucepan.

OK, math lovers - we're going to make a 5% brine, and a milliliter weighs one gram. So I just divide the amount of milliliters of liquid by 10, cut the result in half, and add that many grams of salt. Or if that doesn't make sense and you have, say, 500 ml of combined water and vinegar (which is roughly two cups), divide 500 by 20 and you find you need 25 grams of salt. Add the salt to the liquid in the pan.

Next up, add three times as much sugar to the saucepan, by weight, as you did salt - 75 grams, in our example.

Finally, add some spices. A few sprigs of dill and/or a bay leaf, some whole peeled cloves of garlic and a generous sprinkle of whole coriander seeds is traditional, but naked pickles are still good.

Heat up the water just to boiling, stirring occasionally to dissolve all the sugar and salt. Pour the hot water over the pickles, trying to make sure they are fully submerged. Let cool a bit, then cover and let sit overnight. Refrigerate the next day. The pickles are ready to eat once cool, but benefit from at least a day or two in the fridge, and will last indefinitely.

You can pickle anything using the above ratios. Julienned carrots and daikon radish are nice to have around for banh mi. Halved brussel sprouts and thick carrot slices for you sophisticates. Rings of red onions are classic, and practically a necessity for tacos. Jalapenos, ideally a mix of red and green. Sliced fennel. Quick sauerkrauts made of cabbage (use way less sugar). Go nuts.

For more intense flavorings, consider fennel seed, peeled slices of ginger or horseradish, and red pepper flakes. You can also, of course, buy pre-made pickling spice, in the supers or online - Penzey's makes an exceptional one, and they have a great web presence with a straightforward midwestern vibe. Know that many pre-made pickling spices have a lot of sweet notes like clove, anise and even cinnamon. Whereas for these fridge pickles, I like to keep it simple.

You might think 3X sugar vs. salt is a lot, but it's not. Try looking up some recipes for bread and butter pickles. But you can always add a lesser amount, and adjust the sweetness as you heat up the brine.

A final word - if you want to pickle a vegetable you would ordinarily want cooked, like the aforementioned brussel sprouts, just simmer them in the pickling liquid for a minute or two as you heat it up, to take the edge off. Leave them quite crisp.