How to Pickle Vegetables

2024.02.07 21:02


Skip to content EatingWell Please fill out this field. Log In My Account Log Out Newsletters Sweepstakes Please fill out this field. Healthy Recipes Healthy Recipes Dinner Quick & Easy Breakfast & Brunch Lunch Appetizers Side Dishes Salads Soup Desserts Smoothies Snacks View All Special Diets Special Diets Mediterranean Diet Anti-Inflammatory Diet Weight Loss Heart Health Gluten-Free Vegetarian Vegan View All Diabetes Diabetes Meal Plans for Diabetes Diabetes-Friendly Recipes View All News News Features View All Meal Plans Meal Plans Dinner Plans Weight-Loss Meal Plans Low-Carb Meal Plans Low-Cholesterol Meal Plans Mediterranean Diet Meal Plans Low-Sodium Meal Plans ThePrep View All Healthy Eating Healthy Eating How to Eat Healthy Best Healthy Foods Healthy Cooking How-Tos Healthy Eating for Kids Good Food Fast Beer, Wine & Spirits Guide View All Healthy Lifestyle Healthy Lifestyle EatingWell in Real Life Entertaining Kitchen Essentials Sustainability Healthy Pets View All About Us About Us Nutrition Guidelines View All Log In My Account My Account Log Out Newsletters Sweepstakes Follow Us Healthy Recipes Dinner Quick & Easy Breakfast & Brunch Lunch Appetizers Side Dishes Salads Soup Desserts Smoothies Snacks View All Special Diets Mediterranean Diet Anti-Inflammatory Diet Weight Loss Heart Health Gluten-Free Vegetarian Vegan View All Diabetes Meal Plans for Diabetes Diabetes-Friendly Recipes View All Meal Plans Dinner Plans Weight-Loss Meal Plans Low-Carb Meal Plans Low-Cholesterol Meal Plans Mediterranean Diet Meal Plans Low-Sodium Meal Plans ThePrep View All News Features View All Healthy Eating How to Eat Healthy Best Healthy Foods Healthy Cooking How-Tos Healthy Eating for Kids Good Food Fast Beer, Wine & Spirits Guide View All Healthy Lifestyle EatingWell in Real Life Entertaining Kitchen Essentials Sustainability Healthy Pets View All About Us Our Food & Nutrition Philosophy Healthy Eating Healthy Cooking How-Tos

How to Pickle Anything (No Canning Necessary)

Pickles taste amazing! You can pickle pretty much any veggie, not just cucumbers: tomatillos, carrots, okra, beets, peppers, turnips, avocado. So grab some veggies, vinegar, a few spices and follow our tips for successful making homemade pickles!

By Hilary Meyer Hilary Meyer

Hilary Meyer is a freelance recipe developer, tester and content creator. She has a bachelor s degree in anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Culinary Arts degree from the New England Culinary Institute. Hilary started working in the EatingWell test kitchen in 2006 before becoming an editor. She left for New York City in 2014, but eventually returned home to Vermont where she belongs.

EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 28, 2020

Every year, my garden gets bigger. This year I may have gone a little overboard. I m harvesting way more produce than I can eat and with all the effort I ve put in, I would hate to watch my vegetables wither in the fridge. So I m making quick-pickled vegetables (not just cucumber pickles!). You can pickle pretty much any veggie in the refrigerator: tomatillos, carrots, okra, beets, peppers, turnips, avocado. Then jazz them up with some seasonings, such as pickling spice, garlic and fresh dill. That s the beauty of making pickles at home. You can tailor them to suit your tastes, making them sweet or sour, and adding as much or as little flavoring as you wish.

All the Veggie Pickle Recipes You Need

The trick with pickling is to create an environment that is inhospitable to harmful bacteria while preserving the integrity of the vegetables. The 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water keeps my vegetables crisp in the fridge, but is also acidic enough that they can be canned safely if I choose to. And don t let a fear of canning slow you down: instead, try making refrigerator pickles-no canning required! (Of course, should you like to can them so they last longer, you can.)

How to Can Preserves and More in a Water Bath

Now that I ve officially become a pickling fanatic, I won t waste a thing. Pickled tomatillos make a great topping for tacos. Hot pickled peppers are a zesty-spicy accompaniment to grilled meat. Chopped pickled green beans and carrots are delicious in salads, and the iconic bread-and-butter pickle is the perfect addition to a sandwich. And don t forget your fellow pickle fans–a homemade jar of pickles makes a great hostess gift.

So grab some veggies, vinegar, a few spices, and get pickling!

Pictured: Pickled Garlic Cloves

3 Tips for Successful Making Homemade Pickles

1. Water: Most water is suitable for pickling, but hard water may interfere with the pickling process and discolor the vegetables over time. Use purified water if you re in doubt.

2. Vinegar: You can experiment with different vinegars like white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar for pickles that you re storing in the refrigerator. But if you plan on canning them, use vinegars that are at least 5% acetic acid for your pickling liquid. The percentage is often listed on the label. As long as there is an equal amount of vinegar and water in the brine, you can add or subtract ingredients like salt or sugar to suit your tastes. But be aware that if there is more water than vinegar in the brine, it may not be suitable for canning.

3. Salt: Use pure sea salt without any additives or salt labeled "canning" or "pickling" salt. Additives in table salt or kosher salt may make the brine cloudy.

Here s a simple guide to transforming your fresh summer produce into a sharp and piquant playground for your taste buds:

Step 1: Prepare Vegetables

Wash and chop your veggies into whatever shape you'd like them to be pickled in (thin disks work well if you're not sure what to do). Certain veggies will be enhanced by blanching them (briefly cooking them in boiling water). At EatingWell, we recommend blanching beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, ginger, green beans, okra and peppers. Don't bother blanching cucumbers, tomatillos, tomatoes or turnips, however. You can find recommendations for the quantity of vegetables to start with for different kinds of recipes here. To blanch: Bring 16 cups of water per pound of prepped vegetables to a boil in a large pot. Add the vegetables, cover, return to a boil and cook for 2 minutes (cook beets for 5 minutes). Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl of ice water to cool; drain.

Step 2: Divide Vegetables

Divide the vegetables among 6 pint-size (2-cup) canning jars or similar-size tempered-glass or heatproof-plastic containers with lids.

Step 3: Add Flavorings

Add fresh or dry flavorings, if desired. Don t be afraid to mix and match a little! Here are some tasty flavorings to try:

Dry Flavorings (amount per pint jar):

1 Bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon Celery seed

1-3 small whole Dried Chile peppers

1/2 teaspoon Cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon Dill seed

1/2 teaspoon Mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon Pickling spice

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric

Fresh Flavorings (amount per pint jar):

1 fresh Habanero or Jalapeño pepper

2-4 sprigs sliced or whole Dill

1/2-1 whole large clove, sliced Garlic

2 3-inch strips fresh (peeled) or 1/2 teaspoon prepared Horseradish

1 sprig fresh Oregano

1 tablespoon sliced Shallot

Don't Miss: 8 of the World's Healthiest Spices

Step 4: Make Brine

Make either sweet or sour brine using these recipes:

Sour Pickle Brine Recipe

Makes: 6 cups. Combine 3 cups distilled white vinegar (or cider vinegar), 3 cups water, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sea salt and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the salt is dissolved. Let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Sweet Pickle Brine Recipe

Makes: 6 cups. Combine 3 cups distilled white vinegar (or cider vinegar), 3 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sea salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Step 5: Fill Jars with Brine

Carefully fill jars (or containers) with brine to within 1/2 inch of the top of the rim, covering the vegetables completely. Discard any leftover brine. Place the lids on the jars (or containers). Because you re not canning them, you don t need to gently tap the jars to get rid of air bubbles.

Refrigerate them for at least 24 hours before serving. (Refrigerate okra and turnips for at least 1 week before serving.) Pickled veggies will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Find step-by-step instructions for canning your homemade pickles so they can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 year here.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Related Articles Kristin Cavallari Shares Her Morning Routine—Plus the One Vegetable She Can t Live Without Pickled Garlic Cloves 15 mins Beet & Fonio Salad with Spicy Pickled Carrots 1 hr 30 mins Chicken Wings with Peruvian Yellow Hot Sauce, Cilantro Crema & Pickled Onions 3 hrs 35 mins Composed Salad with Pickled Beets & Smoked Tofu 30 mins How to Cook Brussels Sprouts So They re Actually Delicious Do Chua (Vietnamese Carrot Daikon Pickle) 8 hrs 50 mins Beet & Red Cabbage Borscht with Dill & Mint Yogurt Cream 1 hr 5 mins Spicy Pickled Carrots 1 hr 40 mins Pickled Okra 1 day 1 hr 15 mins Do Pickles Go Bad? How to Make a Healthier Pasta Salad Recipe The Best Formula for Making Easy Veggie-Packed Sheet-Pan Dinners The Best Way to Preserve Hot Peppers Sweet Pickled Peppers 25 mins 13 Low-Carb Slow-Cooker Dinners for a Cozy Evening EatingWell Newsletters Follow Us Healthy Recipes Meal Plans Healthy Eating Healthy Cooking Healthy Lifestyle Special Diets Diabetes News About Us Diversity & Inclusion Nutrition Guidelines Privacy Policy Product Reviews Advertise Terms of Service Careers EU Privacy Contact EatingWell is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family. Please review our updated Terms of Service . Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up

We Care About Your Privacy

We and our 1609 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to provide:

Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners (vendors)

Accept All Reject All Show Purposes

Menu

Last Photo