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Do you make Refrigerator Pickles?

 
steward
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Cy Cobb brought up this question:

Cy Cobb said, "I'm curious about this Chinese pickle jar you spoke of.  Is it basically a jar with vinegar & spices that you keep in the fridge?  I have been wondering about something like this because I have a friend that gave me a Korean cucumber, & I thought about making pickles with it, but didn't want to do a whole canning session for one jar.  It would be nice to just drop it in an already prepared pickle jar.



https://permies.com/t/218870/radish#1876864

A long time ago I made Refrigerator Pickles though I can't find the recipe now.

Does anyone have a good recipe for Refrigerator Pickles?
 
Anne Miller
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Can you make a new pickle by putting a fresh cucumber in pickle juice?



 
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We make them!
I was just now adding some cucumber and onion to this jar.

Other years it's about half braggs acvinegar and half water and then just add cucumber slices and lots of onions.

This year I had some leftover kraut brine so used that and some whey from my homemade yogurt to begin with but now that the jar is getting full I added applecider vinegar.

I cover with cloth although it's not a ferment in the refrigerator so lidded works also...I just like to let it breath.

No recipe really.  
Last year I kept some through november...they got eaten so couldn't test beyond that.  I think they would keep over the winter though.

We eat a few almost daily out of the jar so the contents is a mix of old and new slices...doesn't seem to affect the outcome.
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I don't have pics, but yes! I make them with all kinds of veggies, not just cukes. My recipes for them aren't really 'recipes', though. Not really even a formula - more like a method, and always dependent on our mood. Sometimes - especially if I'm adding things like while mustard seed, peppercorns, or other hard spices or veggies (think carrots, cauliflower, broccoli...), I'll bring the liquid to a boil, first. If the veggies are those hard ones, I'll pour the brine, still boiling, over them, to help them pickle better, then let them cool, before putting them in the fridge. But, the vast majority of the time, I do a simple vinegar-based brine. If we're looking for a bit of sweetness, I'll add a bit of stevia, heat means I'm adding red pepper flakes or a whole pepper. I play with the vinegars, too: tarragon vinegar; organic, raw acv; a bit of balsamic, plain distilled, or other herbed or fruited vinegars (blueberry & tarragon vinegar are homemade staples, in our pantry). Sometimes, I'll add garlic, sometimes dill...

I like to play with my food, and experiment...
 
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I do I love purslane refrigerator pickles as a relish.. I make a generic dill brine with a 1 to 2 vinegar to water ratio sea salt and whatever spices or I have on hand and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. So good.. It's my favorite way to eat purslane. I fill the jar with raw chopped purslane pour the hot brine over it.
Let it cool and put it in the fridge.
 
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Anne Miller wrote:Can you make a new pickle by putting a fresh cucumber in pickle juice?

I've used old pickle juice to make pickled onions. Essentially doing what Heather Staas does - hot brine over sliced onions, cool and refrigerate. They're great in burgers, sandwiches, and chopped a bit finer, I add them to an egg/potato salad I make which everyone loves. If I think they'll hang around longer vs shorter, I may add a little extra vinegar of some sort.

I do also have a sweet pickle brine recipe that a friend gave me. I believe it originally called for malt vinegar which I normally don't have, so I used other options - red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, regular pickling vinegar or a mix. Some pickling vinegars are 7% instead of 5%, but so long as I keep that in mind, things have been fine.
 
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Yes, I've made them before, and yes you can make a new pickle by putting nearly any vegetable in get this the leftover pickle brine from a jar of store bought pickles!

I have also made them from the leftover brine from lacto fermented pickles with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar added.
 
Carla Burke
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Cat Knight wrote:Yes, I've made them before, and yes you can make a new pickle by putting nearly any vegetable in get this the leftover pickle brine from a jar of store bought pickles!

I have also made them from the leftover brine from lacto fermented pickles with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar added.



I've not tried them with lacto fermented brine - yet. But, we do have a favorite, but pricey-to-us pickle (Famous Dave's Sweet&Spicy), and I often recycle the brine for pickle salad (whatever mix of fresh veggies I have on hand, chopped into bite size pieces, covered in the brine & tucked into the fridge as part of normal food prep). It's a great way to extend the value from the expense, have fresh veggies available in the fridge at a moment's notice, and keep satisfying the cravings for those pickles, for another week or two - if we don't chow it all down faster.
 
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I really like Korean-style danmuji out of radishes and it make a really nice side for many things. Quick pickled onions never last long in my fridge either! I tinker with the recipe, especially with what spices are added.

Mine are usually made in a regular leftover pickle jar from the grocery store. I would like to get a nice big gallon jar or a Chinese pickle jar but this works well enough. Sometimes I make them in canning jars to take to friends and family in the summer but they are not shelf stable and still need to go in the fridge. They taste the best when cold, anyway.
 
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Refrigerator + Pickles = Refrigerickles!

I just put them in straight cider vinegar usually. But I love the taste of vinegar, so...
 
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Here is my recipe.  They can last over a year.  I use leftover juice for purslane and other veggies bits.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

2 lb small, firm cucumbers
2 c water
¼ c + 2 T cider or white wine vinegar
1½ T non-iodized salt
1 T sugar or 2 T light clover or wildflower honey
2-4 cloves garlic
1 t whole mustard seeds
½ t black peppercorns
(2-4 small grape leaves or 3" pieces of horseradish leaf)
2-3 dill flower heads or 2 generous sprigs fresh dill leaves

Cut a thin sliver off the flower end of the cucumbers (opposite the stem end).  This will result in a crunchier pickle

Slice cucumbers lengthwise into halves or spears, or leave very small cucumbers whole

Bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar or honey to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once it’s boiling, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature

Put the garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and one of the grape or horseradish leaves into the bottom of a clean glass quart sized jar

Pack the cucumbers as tightly as possible into the jar.  Tuck in the dill and remaining leaves as you add the cucumbers

Pour the cooled brine over the cucumbers.  They should be completely covered by the liquid.  Cover with a lid, and put your pickles-to-be in the refrigerator

Wait 4-days for the flavor of the pickles to develop before tasting
 
Heather Staas
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(2-4 small grape leaves or 3" pieces of horseradish leaf)

OH I keep forgetting to try this!   I have both!   Thanks for reminding me; pickles are on the list for this weekend!
 
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Soooo... my introduction to these pickles had me doing equal parts vinegar, sugar and and half to equal amounts of water. Super sweet, we loved it, but we cannot eat that much sugar anymore, even as a garnish.

Do ya'll mean that sugar can be reduced or absent and it still keep without going bad?
 
Carla Burke
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Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Soooo... my introduction to these pickles had me doing equal parts vinegar, sugar and and half to equal amounts of water. Super sweet, we loved it, but we cannot eat that much sugar anymore, even as a garnish.

Do ya'll mean that sugar can be reduced or absent and it still keep without going bad?



Yes, Ma'am! In my homemade pickle stuffs (not the recycling of store bought pickle juices), I use stevia, if I want sweetness - even in my home-canned ones. I've never had an issue, because of all the acid in the vinegar.
 
Judith Browning
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Joylynn Hardesty wrote:
Do ya'll mean that sugar can be reduced or absent and it still keep without going bad?


No sugar in mine...just part vinegar part water and sometimes a little whey or kraut juice.  
I don't think sugar would help preserve them...although it might feed a sweet tooth  
 
Joylynn Hardesty
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Thanks Carla and Judith!

Judith wrote:No sugar in mine...just part vinegar part water and sometimes a little whey or kraut juice.  
I don't think sugar would help preserve them...although it might feed a sweet tooth  



Or feeds the demon of inflamation = pain. I miss the occatsional binge on cake. Or cookies. Or ice cream! Sigh.
 
Judith Browning
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Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Thanks Carla and Judith!

Judith wrote:No sugar in mine...just part vinegar part water and sometimes a little whey or kraut juice.  
I don't think sugar would help preserve them...although it might feed a sweet tooth  



Or feeds the demon of inflamation = pain. I miss the occatsional binge on cake. Or cookies. Or ice cream! Sigh.



Haha...that's it exactly!
Once I start there's no holding back.
August begins the virgo birthday sugar binge days for us...an abundance of family birthdays coming up through september and what's a grandma to do?
I don't crave it until I begin eating it again so planning to be good for another few weeks.
 
Rebecca Rosa
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I gave this no sugar refrigerator pickle recipe a try, using our first small harvest of asian and pickling cucumbers plus dill and a sweet green pepper from the garden. I also scored some nice jars at our community sale so no more metal lid. Now I just have to resist them for a few days before I can try them.

A few years ago we were given as many pickling cucumbers as we could use, so we canned batches of spicy dill pickles with garlic and chile peppers. But with only a few on hand, doing them this way is much easier :) I just hope they taste as good.

Sugar may be a matter of taste, personally its nice with radishes or onions, though I prefer my cucumber pickles to be as spicy and dilly as possible. But I agree you can easily leave it out if you're trying to avoid it, Joylynn!

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Can cauliflower be just added to recycled pickling juice?
 
Anne Miller
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I see no reason cauliflower can't be added.

I knew a guy who did okra.
 
Carla Burke
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John C Daley wrote:Can cauliflower be just added to recycled pickling juice?


I use it for almost any veggies, including cauliflower. In fact, that's one of my favorites, for it. I'm not sure about the leafy greens, for it, but using the pickle juice to make salad dressing can be a nice way to use it, too.
 
Jay Angler
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John C Daley wrote:Can cauliflower be just added to recycled pickling juice?

Good idea John C! I find that if I buy a cauliflower, I can't use it fast enough with just 2 people to feed. Cutting some up right away to pickle, seems like a great idea!
@ Carla - do you just chop it up and toss it in raw? With onions I tend to blanche them in the hot juice, but I think that's more that I can't handle raw onion very well.
 
Carla Burke
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I chop the veggies bitesize, & stuff them into the (hot) jar. Then, bring the juice to boil (sometimes adding a bit of dried hot pepper, &/or other flavorful herbs, sometimes adding a bit of Stevia, after talking it off the heat. Then, I immediately pour the juice into the jar with the veggies, and put the lid on. The lid will often vacuum seal itself(though I wouldn't trust it, for long term storage), and let it cool on the counter, before popping it into the fridge for at least 2 or 3 days. If I can keep my mits out of it for a week, the flavors develop even more, and it's really good - but... well, that only happens if I can 'hide' the jar from both John and myself. That only seems to happen when one of us has a batch or two of something else fermenting, that I can hide them behind.
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