No Time for Canning? These 17 Quick Pickle Recipes Have You Covered (2024)

FAQs

Can quick pickles be canned? ›

Because quick pickles happen within the constrained environment of the refrigerator, you can use a pickle canning recipe for refrigerator pickles — but never use a fridge pickle recipe for canning, because canning recipes are specially proportioned to inhibit bacteria growth so the food will be shelf stable.

The major difference between quick pickling and regular pickling is that we're not canning anything, and the vegetables must be stored in the fridge and eaten within a month or two of making them. But you can make as small or large of a batch as you'd like!

Process the pickle jars

That's 10 minutes for pint jars, 15 minutes for quart jars. Set your timer as soon as you see the water start boiling. Remove pot from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from the water using the lifter or tongs, transferring them back to the kitchen towel or wood cutting board.

Making refrigerator pickles is a simple matter of mixing up a brine and pouring it over cut cucumbers. These pickles are ready to enjoy starting the day after they are made, and they will keep in the refrigerator for a month. Don't worry if the liquid does not quite cover the cucumbers at first.

How long does quick pickling take? The actual process of pickling takes as little as 10 minutes. Then you should allow your pickles to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. Although for best flavor, let them brine for 24 hours before serving.

It may be a normal reaction during fermentation caused by bacteria. If the pickles are soft, they are spoiled from the yeast fermentation. Don't use them. Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature.

Use Calcium Chloride

Calcium chloride (CaCl2), sometimes known as “pickle crisp”, is a type of salt that helps preserve the crunchiness of food. It is used in the food industry to help preserve the texture of canned fruit and vegetables.

Be sure you're using a clean container to pack your pickles (we may be quick pickling, but we're not barbarians!), though you don't need to sterilize it. Mason and other glass jars are just as good here as they are in traditional canning, McClellan says.

Once all the jars are in the pot, they should be submerged by about 1” of water. If necessary, add more boiling water from your kettle. Bring the water to a full rolling boil, and process for the amount of time recommended by your recipe. When your processing time is up, turn off the heat.

This Dill Pickle Recipe is EASY:

Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal.

What happens if you boil pickles too long? ›

2. My pickles are soft. Typically soft pickles are a result of boiling them too long in your hot water bath canner or from having the water too hot. The temperature for the hot water bath shouldn't be higher than 185° F (keep the temperature between 180F to 185F) or it may cause softening in your pickles.

“There's not a vegetable that can't be pickled,” she says. Cornichons, cherries, figs, carrots — “If you can grow it, you can pickle it.” Any small cucumber will do for Choate's “Pickles to Add Oomph” recipe, below.

Making sure enough vinegar is added to the cucumbers is important to make safe pickles; Clostridium botulinum can grow in improperly canned, pickled foods with a pH higher than 4.6. It is critical to use scientifically tested recipes for making pickles to ensure their safety.

The difference between a quick pickle and a canned pickle is that the quick pickle process is basically the same as marinating. Canned pickles, on the other hand, use a stronger brine and a water-bath canning process to extend their shelf life.

Quick-process pickles differ from fermented pickles because the pickling process uses acetic acid from vinegar rather than lactic acid from fermentation. Quick-process pickles are ideal for those who want to make pickles, start to finish, in a few days.

Pickle Brine vs.

Typical pickle brine is a solution of about 5 to 7% salt and anywhere from 1:1 to 1.5:1 vinegar to water. Quickles, on the other hand, typically have a higher salt and vinegar content. A quickle brine is an 8 to 10% salt solution with a 1.5:1 to 2:1 vinegar content.

“Absolutely yes, you can reuse pickle brine,” says Phillip Bec of McClure's Pickles. Mark Hungarland, the co-founder of Doux South Pickles, agrees. "We have always encouraged our customers to reuse our brines," Hungarland tells Southern Living. "It is such a waste to dump the brine after the pickles are gone."