Quick pickling vegetables
While browsing through some food websites, I came across a few that had instructions for quick pickling vegetables. This is a process in which you place sliced vegetables in a jar, pour in a vinegar solution, and let it chill for two days. No cooking or canning involved.
I recalled that James Connery, one of my colleagues at Applied Survey Research, would show off his latest pickling projects during our Zoom meetings. He said it was quite easy. But I didn’t realize how easy until I found instructions online.
In general, you select a pound of washed fresh vegetables, then slice crosswise or cut them into spears. Pack them tightly into two clean wide-mouth pint jars, and add some herbs (dill, pickling spice, garlic, or whatever).
Mix together a cup of vinegar (apple cider, white, rice, etc.), a cup of water, and a tablespoon of salt. You can add a teaspoon of sugar, if you wish.
Boil the vinegar mixture about a minute to dissolve the salt, then pour it over the vegetables until the liquid comes within a half-inch of the jar rim. Screw on the lid and rings, let cool, and refrigerate for at least two days. That’s it!
James says he doesn’t bother to boil the liquid. The important part is that the salt and sugar are thoroughly dissolved. He does that with a whisk. In fact, he doesn’t always use water in the mix. Rather, he replaces the water with an equal amount of vinegar.
For him, the important part is cutting the vegetables as thin as possible so they absorb the flavor. Carrots, onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, celery, and other firm vegetables are good. Green beans can be trimmed and left whole or cut in half to fit the jar. To maintain the green color, blanch them for about 30- 45 seconds in boiling water. Then plunge immediately in ice water.
You can enjoy these pickles straight out of the jar as snacks, in salads, as part of an appetizer tray, in sandwiches, or any other way that makes you happy.
More spice storage
Ann Whitlock found another ingenious way to store spices. She wrote, “I toured my cousin’s kitchen remodel, and my jaw dropped when she opened a spice drawer.”