Pickles: The Perfect Way to Preserve Summer’s Vegetables

Now that summer is well underway, your vegetable garden is providing you with fresh produce. It is amazing having dozens of tomatoes for fresh salads and pizzas. It can be a bit tricky coming up with ways to use up all of your produce before it spoils. A great way to ensure nothing goes to waste is to turn your fresh produce into pickles! Pickles are becoming increasingly popular, and almost any vegetable (or fruit) can be pickled! Onions, cucumbers, beets, peppers, carrots… you name it, you can pickle it!

Making your own pickles can seem a bit daunting, as the canning process seems incredibly lengthy. Making the brine, waiting for it to cool, sterilizing the jars… It’s intimidating if you haven’t pickled before. There are many traditional methods, and they aren’t incredibly difficult they just take a few pieces of equipment as well as time. Taking the time to traditionally can pickles will allow you to store them on shelves and have them on hand for more than a few months. For those who don’t like to can the traditional way, there are two easier methods of making pickles at home. These include refrigerator pickles, and quick pickles.

Refrigerator Pickles

This type of pickle is easier to make than their traditional counterparts, as you don’t need any special equipment or to sterilize and seal the jars. Simply make the brine, put it in jars with the vegetables, and leave in the fridge for up to 3 months! I found a great recipe that can easily be modified, so use whatever vegetables you have on hand and omit any spices you like! The recipe can be found here.

Quick-Pickles

These are something that I make regularly. You can use any vegetable to make these quick pickles. They add zing to sandwiches, salads, and cheese plates! They’re also delicious eaten as a snack. They take less than 20 minutes to make. So whenever a craving strikes, you can enjoy homemade pickles in no time! Here is a recipe for quick pickles, feel free to adapt it as you like!

What You’ll Need

1 cup water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1.5-2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. fresh dill (optional)
1 tbsp. dill seed (optional)
2 cups sliced vegetables (red onions and cucumbers are my favourite)

Instructions

Bring the vinegar, water and dill seed (if using) to a boil, and remove from the heat. Let it cool for about 5 minutes, and pour over the sliced vegetables. Add the dill if using. Let the vegetables sit for at least 10 minutes and enjoy! Finally, store them in a jar or container in the fridge for up to a week.

Try It Yourself!

You can pickle almost any vegetable, therefore give it a go! It is a great way to preserve some of your beautifully grown produce and it’s also delicious. It is a rewarding and easy way to enjoy your own produce all year long. Try the recipe provided and let us know what you think! We suggest growing your beautiful vegetables in our Black Garden Soil for best results!