Quick Pickling Recipe + Pickle Anything! | Hill Country Homestead

Pickling is one of my favorite ways to enjoy an extended life of vegetables and enhance flavor. Extra produce or an abundant harvest is a great time to break out the brine and get pickling. Start with a box of jars like the one to the left and the possibilities become endless! The vegetables will naturally Lacto ferment a little bit in the jars adding a little boost of nutrition absorption and a dose of probiotics to the diet. Best of all, you can adapt this simple formula for any fresh vegetables; try a mixture of vinegars and spices for a truly custom pickle pleasure.

I’m not a huge fan of recipe blogs that go on and on about a backstory or history on the dish so let’s get right to it! A few of my favorite bulk buy ingredients before we begin…..

Mason Jars

Vinegar

Onion Powder

Garlic Granules

Grape Leaves

Dill

Peppercorns

Basic Pickling Recipe

Pickle any vegetable for flavor and preservation

Makes: Two 16 oz mason jars , multiply recipe as needed

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 16 oz of water (a large mason jar full)
• 16 oz vinegar (a large mason jar full)
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 small onion
• 2 Teaspoons onion powder
• 2 Teaspoons garlic granuals or 3 cloves whole garlic
• 2 Teaspoons Dill or several sprigs of fresh dill
• 2 Green Tea Bags or several fresh grape leaves
• 2 Teaspoons peppercorns
• 2 Large Jars full of vegetables to pickle
• Anything else you would like to add to enhance to your flavor liking, be creative! This water/vinegar ratio is for very sour pickles. Reduce the vinegar percentage and add more water if you like milder pickles.

Instructions:

1. On stovetop at medium heat, Pour water and vinegar into a large stockpot and add salt to dissolve
2. Heat until all salt is dissolved, turn off stove and let liquid cool
3. In each 16 oz mason jar add 1 green teabag
4. In each jar add 1 teaspoon of dill or several fresh sprigs
5. In each jar add 1 teaspoon garlic granuals or 3 cloves whole garlic
6. In each jar add several slices of onion, enough to cover the bottom
7. In each jar add 1 teaspoon onion powder
8. In each jar add 1 teaspoon peppercorns
9. Add anything else that strikes your fancy: mustard seed, other fresh herbs, cayenne peppers, etc.
10. Pack desired vegetables into the jars, as full as possible
11. Pour water vinegar mixture into each jar, fill to the brim covering vegetables completely
12. Secure lid and ring on the jar and store in the refrigerator for a year or water bath to seal and keep them longer!

You may also like: 5 Tips For Making Your Local Farmers Market a Habit

Related: A great guide to all things canning.

The green tea bags are to preserve the crispness of the vegetables. An ingredient containing tannin must be added to keep the produce crisp. Some things with tannin in them are black tea, grape leaves, oak leaves and green tea. Tea bags from the grocery store are the easiest way to add this ingredient and I love the green coloring the green tea adds to cucumbers!

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