how to make pickles

1 hour ago 3

To make pickles at home, you can follow a straightforward refrigerator pickle method that requires no canning and yields crisp, tangy results. Here's a step-by-step guide based on expert recipes:

Ingredients

Cucumbers (1 medium-large or 2 small, about 12 oz total)
Water (½ cup)
Vinegar (½ cup rice vinegar or white vinegar)
Salt (1½ teaspoons fine sea salt or kosher salt)
Sweetener (1½ tablespoons maple syrup or sugar, optional to balance acidity)
Fresh dill (2 sprigs, roughly chopped)
Garlic (2 cloves, peeled and smashed)
Optional spices: red pepper flakes (¼ teaspoon), black pepper (20 twists), bay leaf, mustard seeds, peppercorns

Instructions

Prepare the cucumbers:
- Slice cucumbers as desired:
  - Thin rounds (about ⅛ inch thick) for quick pickling (ready in ~1 hour).
  - Spears by halving lengthwise, then quartering, and optionally halving again for jar fit (ready in ~3 hours or more)

Make the brine:
- Combine water, vinegar, salt, and sweetener in a bowl or saucepan.
- Stir until salt (and sugar, if used) dissolves. You can use room temperature brine or heat it briefly to dissolve ingredients, then cool before pouring over cucumbers

Pack the jar:
- Place cucumbers into a clean wide-mouth jar.
- Add dill, garlic, bay leaf, and any optional spices.
- Pour the brine over the cucumbers, ensuring they are fully submerged.
Refrigerate:
- Seal the jar and refrigerate.
- Thin slices will be ready after 1 hour, spears after 3 hours or more.
- For best flavor, wait 24 hours to several days. Pickles keep well in the fridge for up to 3 weeks

This method is simple, quick, and produces fresh, crunchy pickles without the strong vinegar smell of hot-brined pickles. You can customize spices and sweetness to your taste