Quick homemade pickles for summer

In the world of summer barbecues, the pickle hardly plays a starring role.

But homemade quick pickles made from a variety of fresh veggies, not just cucumbers, are a completely different story! Quick pickles are made in minutes, not days, so the veggies stay crisper than store-bought versions. And since you control the ingredients, you can customize your pickles to make them as tart, sweet, sour, spicy or salty as you want.

Make one batch, and you’ll immediately know how to adjust the flavours to your liking. You can even make a variety of pickling flavours easily — add extra smashed garlic cloves and red pepper flakes to the green beans and bump up the vinegar to give cauliflower floret pickles extra pucker. You can even pickle fruit — pineapple chunks, halved cherry tomatoes all make tangy toppings for grilled meats and spicy dishes.

Six-ingredient Quick Pickles YIELD: VARIES

½ cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons sugar 6 smashed garlic cloves 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or other spice or herb, such as mustard seed, celery seed, or dill) 2 cups vegetables, approximately, trimmed to fit in two 1-pint mason jars Special equipment: 2 mason jars (1 pint size)

Heat the vinegar, salt and sugar in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil and stir until salt and sugar dissolve, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile place the garlic and red pepper flakes at the bottom of the mason jars, and add the trimmed vegetables. Pour the boiling pickling liquid into the jars to cover the vegetables completely. (You should have enough water, but if not, boil a little extra plain water and add.) Cover the jars and let the vegetables cool. Store in refrigerator. Best if eaten within a week.