One thing I’ve really grown to appreciate while living in Norway is the ease with which one can DIY just about everything. Especially in the kitchen. I absolutely adore the attitude that one can make foods and dishes more easily and more cheaply at home given the right tools and ingredients. The lack of a million and one items complimented by the lack of a million and one varieties of everything from cereal to ice cream, means that food variations beyond the basic offering is up to you to provide for yourself.
Pickles, and normally their smaller punchier cousins called gherkins, can both be bought in almost every store which sells food in Norway. Put that’s not the point.
The point is that making one’s own pickles or other pickled vegetables allows one to control not only the taste of the final product but also the quantity – for much, much less than the cost of buying pickles, gherkins or other pickled vegetables in the grocery store.
I love this recipe because it requires no canning skills whatsoever-and completely demystifies the canning process for those of us who do not have all of the canning equipment or any canning know how! This recipe requires no boiling of jars, no dealing with rubber seals or no keeping watch for botulism. Nope – none of that jazz! Since the brining process takes place in the refrigerator and you store the pickles in the refrigerator – all you have to concern yourself with is the proportions of salt and sugar in the brining solution, playing with the flavour combinations and one pot cleanup. Could this recipe get any easier?
Also, all the ingredients, in even a modestly stocked kitchen, you'll have on hand. Perhaps less the mustard seeds, which are available in nearly every grocery store in Norway. So yeppers, the recipe just got even easier.
This recipe is one I’ve adapted from Christine Gallary in a way that merges my taste preferences with her brining proportions. Feel free to play around and change the seasonings in the brine to your liking.
Easy Refrigerator Pickles (No Canning Required)
Adapted from Christine Gallary’s Easy Quick Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
1 clean glass jar or glass container with a lid– I used a litre-sized jar
Vegetables:
enough chopped or whole vegetables to fill the jar - I used 2 thickly sliced “English” cucumbers
Suggested vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, okra, cauliflower, zucchini, green beans
For the brine seasoning/flavorings:
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
Additional seasonings/flavorings: up to three cloves of garlic added in with the raw vegetables (not in the boiling brine), dill, celery seed, dried chillies, sliced fresh jalapeño added in with the raw vegetables (not in the boiling brine), coriander seeds or red peppercorns
For the brine solution:
250 ml cider vinegar
63 ml white vinegar
188 ml water
50 grams granulated sugar
36 grams sea salt
----------------------------------------------------------
1 cup cider vinegar1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt
Directions
1 Pack your vegetable of choice tightly into your glass jar or container. If you are using garlic or fresh jalapeño, put these in the glass jar, not in the brining solution. Leave about 1/2 inch or 1.5 cm of room at the top of the jar and set the jar aside.
2 To make the brining solution, toast the mustard seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant. This should take about 2-3 minutes and helps bring out the flavours in the seasoning. Add the remaining ingredients for the brining seasoning and brining solution, then stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Bring to a boil.
3 Immediately pour the hot brine into the glass jar, making sure to cover the vegetables completely. All the vegetables should be covered by the brining solution. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 90 minutes. Seal the jar with a tightfitting lid and shake it to evenly spread out the brining solution. Store the glass jar in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.
4 After 8 hours, serve and enjoy! The pickles can be kept for a month.
I like to eat mine as a snack or chopped up in tartar sauce, as an accompaniment on a cheese platter or on top of a burger.
This post is for non-commercial, personal use only. Copyright © 2012 by Whitney @ Thanks For The Food.
Be sure to check out my Useful Links Page 1 and Useful Links Page 2 or read more about me on the About Page. You can also find TFTF on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube.
Also, all the ingredients, in even a modestly stocked kitchen, you'll have on hand. Perhaps less the mustard seeds, which are available in nearly every grocery store in Norway. So yeppers, the recipe just got even easier.
This recipe is one I’ve adapted from Christine Gallary in a way that merges my taste preferences with her brining proportions. Feel free to play around and change the seasonings in the brine to your liking.
Easy Refrigerator Pickles (No Canning Required)
Adapted from Christine Gallary’s Easy Quick Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
1 clean glass jar or glass container with a lid– I used a litre-sized jar
Vegetables:
enough chopped or whole vegetables to fill the jar - I used 2 thickly sliced “English” cucumbers
Suggested vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, okra, cauliflower, zucchini, green beans
For the brine seasoning/flavorings:
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
Additional seasonings/flavorings: up to three cloves of garlic added in with the raw vegetables (not in the boiling brine), dill, celery seed, dried chillies, sliced fresh jalapeño added in with the raw vegetables (not in the boiling brine), coriander seeds or red peppercorns
For the brine solution:
250 ml cider vinegar
63 ml white vinegar
188 ml water
50 grams granulated sugar
36 grams sea salt
----------------------------------------------------------
1 cup cider vinegar1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt
Directions
1 Pack your vegetable of choice tightly into your glass jar or container. If you are using garlic or fresh jalapeño, put these in the glass jar, not in the brining solution. Leave about 1/2 inch or 1.5 cm of room at the top of the jar and set the jar aside.
2 To make the brining solution, toast the mustard seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant. This should take about 2-3 minutes and helps bring out the flavours in the seasoning. Add the remaining ingredients for the brining seasoning and brining solution, then stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Bring to a boil.
3 Immediately pour the hot brine into the glass jar, making sure to cover the vegetables completely. All the vegetables should be covered by the brining solution. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 90 minutes. Seal the jar with a tightfitting lid and shake it to evenly spread out the brining solution. Store the glass jar in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.
4 After 8 hours, serve and enjoy! The pickles can be kept for a month.
I like to eat mine as a snack or chopped up in tartar sauce, as an accompaniment on a cheese platter or on top of a burger.
This post is for non-commercial, personal use only. Copyright © 2012 by Whitney @ Thanks For The Food.
Be sure to check out my Useful Links Page 1 and Useful Links Page 2 or read more about me on the About Page. You can also find TFTF on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube.
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