Refrigerator pickles?

[Marlingardener]

Does anyone have a recipe for refrigerator pickles that they will share? I have quite a few cucumbers in the fridge and we won't be able to eat them all. I'd like to try making some refrigerator pickles but I can't find a decent recipe on the internet. So, I turned to real cooks with real kitchens here on DC!

 

[dragnlaw]

I often wonder what people mean by refrigerator pickles. I know it means not processed and ready in a couple of weeks but... Are they sweet or dill? or both?

I believe GG has mentioned making some at one point or another.

 

[GotGarlic]

Yes indeed! I love making refrigerator, aka quick, pickles. They can be ready in just a day or two, depending on how you make them, and they last a month or more. They don't really go bad, but they become mushy and unappetizing after a period of time.

The website Food in Jars is my favorite for canning and pickling information. I've been following this blogger for over 10 years. Several years ago, she did a series of challenges on different preserving topics to encourage people to learn or practice different methods. Here's the link to the Quick Pickles challenge. It describes what they are and includes recipes and tips on making them.

Quick Pickles for the April Mastery Challenge

 

[Kathleen]

I make them all the time. Momma only used cucumbers and called them Summer Pickles. Using white vinegar, she would go 1:1 with white sugar. Heat them just until the sugar is dissolved. Add your cucumbers (she sliced hers.) I sometimes add dill or a clove of garlic - but I make them about a pint at a time. Put them in the refrigerator. They are tasty by the time they are cold.

 

[pepperhead212]

I know I've posted this before, but here it is again! Something I learned at a Chinese restaurant that I used to go to in my teens, and they would put a bowl of these on the table, to eat while looking at the menu! Just a sweet and sour pickle, you can add different seasonings to.

Just cut the cukes in half, then scoop out the seed core. Cut into 3 or 4 strips, about 3/8" wide, then into 2-3" fingers, depending on what you want. Put them in a quart mason jar - if filled all the way to the top, add 1/3 c sugar and 1/3 c white vinegar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Seal the jar, and shake, to dissolve the sugar. Let sit at room temperature a couple of hours, shaking a few times, then refrigerate a couple more hours. It will keep for a long time. After draining, different seasonings can be added - a little sesame oil, and maybe some hot oil, for Chinese, but anything you like can be used.

 

[Aunt Bea]

You can use any bread and butter pickle recipe with good results, just skip the canning step and use them within 2-3 weeks.

My lazy version of refrigerator pickles is to save the pickle juice from commercial pickles and add thin sliced cucumbers, onions, frozen corn (thawed), or canned beets to make a quick pickle. Sometimes I bring the pickle juice to a boil and pour it over the vegetables in the jar other times I just add the veggies and give it a shake. This also works with hard boiled eggs. I don’t keep the pickled eggs for more than 3 days.

 

[GotGarlic]

I know I've posted this before, but here it is again! Something I learned at a Chinese restaurant that I used to go to in my teens, and they would put a bowl of these on the table, to eat while looking at the menu! Just a sweet and sour pickle, you can add different seasonings to.

Just cut the cukes in half, then scoop out the seed core. Cut into 3 or 4 strips, about 3/8" wide, then into 2-3" fingers, depending on what you want. Put them in a quart mason jar - if filled all the way to the top, add 1/3 c sugar and 1/3 c white vinegar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Seal the jar, and shake, to dissolve the sugar. Let sit at room temperature a couple of hours, shaking a few times, then refrigerate a couple more hours. It will keep for a long time. After draining, different seasonings can be added - a little sesame oil, and maybe some hot oil, for Chinese, but anything you like can be used.

Another way to do this, which eliminates the need to shake it, is to put the brine ingredients in a saucepan, heat it to boiling and pour the hot mixture over the cucumbers in the jar. This ensures that the salt and sugar are fully dissolved and helps the flavors penetrate more thoroughly.

 

[Marlingardener]

Oh, thank you all! I'll make Refrigerator Pickles this afternoon, using a variety of the recipes posted.
What a wonderful resource this forum is, so helpful.

 

[giggler]

Who's our Dear Friend from the Ukrain? Fantastic shelf cured pickle recipie. after 2 days room temp, put in fridge for a month. Eric, Austin Tx.

 

[taxlady]

Who's our Dear Friend from the Ukrain? Fantastic shelf cured pickle recipie. after 2 days room temp, put in fridge for a month. Eric, Austin Tx.

Huh?

 

[GotGarlic]

Huh?

I think he's referring to @CharlieD. Charlie posted a recipe for fermented pickles some time ago.

 

[taxlady]

I think he's referring to @CharlieD. Charlie posted a recipe for fermented pickles some time ago.

D'oh! That's probably it. But, it's not refrigerator pickles.

 

[Marlingardener]

I tried the suggested recipes, and can highly recommend each and every one! I made them, we ate them, and now I need to make more.
Next I'll try Aunt Bea's method of using the commercial juice. There is a large jar of dill pickles from the grocery, sitting in the fridge.
Ah, the joy of having real cooks chime in with techniques and recipes!

 

[taxlady]

I have pickled stuff with the marinade from commercial, vinegar based, dill pickles. I'm wondering if the leftover brine from commercial, fermented, dill pickles would work too?

 

[CharlieD]

D'oh! That's probably it. But, it's not refrigerator pickles.

What do you mean they are not, or what do you mean by refrigerator pickles. My pickles seat outside for 3 days and then into refrigerator they go. They last a year or more in the fridge.

 

[GotGarlic]

What do you mean they are not, or what do you mean by refrigerator pickles. My pickles seat outside for 3 days and then into refrigerator they go. They last a year or more in the fridge.

Refrigerator pickles are not fermented. That's the only difference.

 

[CharlieD]

Refrigerator pickles are not fermented. That's the only difference.

What makes them pickles then????

 

[taxlady]

Refrigerator pickles are not fermented. That's the only difference.

What makes them pickles then????

The vinegar in the marinade pickles them.

 

[dragnlaw]

So fermented pickles do not have vinegar?

 

[taxlady]

So fermented pickles do not have vinegar?

They don't need to have vinegar. Some people do add some vinegar. Pickles that ferment get lactic acid from the fermentation process. Refrigerator pickles get acid from vinegar. Acid is what keeps both of those types of pickles from growing dangerous microbes. I imagine that it could be some other type of acid, if it lowers the pH enough, but I haven't actually heard of making pickles with any other types of acid.