Quick pickles take minutes to make and keep for weeks in the refrigerator. Shelf-stable canning is a different, stricter skill.
Key idea
Quick (refrigerator) pickles: vegetables packed in a jar and covered with a hot or cold brine of vinegar, water, salt and often sugar and spices, then kept in the refrigerator. A common brine is equal parts vinegar and water. Canned pickles kept on a shelf must follow a tested recipe from the USDA or a university extension service (such as the National Center for Home Food Preservation), exactly, because the acidity and processing time are what keep them safe.
- Use vinegar of at least 5% acidity (it says so on the label).
- Use pickling or canning salt, or kosher salt without additives, measured by weight.
- Don't reduce the vinegar in a canning recipe; you can reduce sugar in some quick pickles.
- Fermented pickles (like sauerkraut) are made a third way, by bacteria making acid; follow a tested recipe.
Why it works
Acid stops the growth of the germs that matter most in sealed jars, including the one that causes botulism. In a refrigerator pickle, cold adds a second barrier; on a shelf, only correct acidity and processing protect you.
Worked example: Brine
A quick pickle brine is 1 : 1 vinegar to water. How much of each for 3 cups of brine?
- Half of 3 cups each.
Answer: 1½ cups vinegar and 1½ cups water.
Common mistake
Inventing a low-vinegar recipe and storing it on the shelf.
Practice at home
- Make quick-pickled red onions: slice thin, cover with hot 1 : 1 vinegar and water with a pinch of salt and sugar, cool, refrigerate. Taste after 1 hour and after 1 day.
In Meal Prep
- Refrigerator dill pickles: a refrigerator pickle, step by step