How to Pickle Everything

I have a huge penchant for sour flavours. Which means that I naturally like pickles. Except the ones of the store bought kinds. Supermarket pickles have two fatal flaws. One, they aren't fresh which makes whatever vegetable you are buying a little tired and droopy. Two, you are almost certain to get sweet and sour pickles which is kind of disappointing when you are looking for a sharp, salty kick.

So when I made pickled jalapenos a couple of months back, with no sugar whatsoever, I seem to have lucked upon a universal quick pickle recipes. These are not your long lasting canned pickles. But if you are looking for something you can eat the next day, and for pickles that can stay in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, this is how you can pickle everything from ginger to gherkins to beetroot.

First off, prep your vegetables, Peel them if you need to and cut into sizes that you can eat later on. I thinly sliced both onion and ginger, peel beetroot and cut thin round slices and just made little sticks out of swiss chard stems. Then, it's just a question of guessing how much liquid you will need for your chosen vegetables. But here's the ratio:

1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves of garlic

I'd suggest you start with this quantity and then double or go higher if you need to. Mix all of the above and stir until the salt dissolves. Pack your vegetables in non reactive jars. Glass and ceramic are both ideal; stay away from any metal. Pour enough of your pickling liquid to cover the vegetables fully. Pop in the fridge and leave 24 hours before eating.

I am not sure how long it's safe to eat these, but I've had the pickles for a couple of weeks and they've been fine. It's so easy to make that you can just make a new, small batch each week.

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