While I can honestly say that while my freezer isn’t absolutely stuffed full of fruit and vegetables for the winter it is getting chaotically crowded. I’ve spent a few hours each week throughout the summer months preparing green beans, zucchini, peaches, strawberries, blueberries…etc. for the freezer. You may recall my epic tomato canning adventure last year and do I regret that I’ve not yet had the chance to repeat it…perhaps I’ll get a few done this weekend.

Last weekend I made refrigerator pickles, which I love because they’re not processed in a canner so they retain their color, crispness, and flavor. Typically I try to let them sit in the frig for at least two weeks before I pop one open for snacking…but I admit it’s difficult to wait…they are that good. Once they’re opened I usually try to eat them within two weeks. The cool thing about these pickles is even though they aren’t canned, the hot pickling brine creates a vacuum seal as it cools thus allowing these pickles a long life in the cold refrigerator. Not that they’ve ever lasted past the year-end holidays.

Refrigerator Pickles (makes two quarts)
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Pickling Brine
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 – 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup sugar
Allspice, whole. 4-6
cloves, whole, 2-6

Vegetables to Pickle
Beets, cooked whole, peeled, and slice
Green beans, washed, heads snapped off
Zucchini, washed and sliced

Seasoning Vegetables
1 onion, sliced and then separated
1 -4 jalapeño peppers

2 one quart canning jars with lids

Put all the ingredients for the pickling brine into a pan and heat to a boil. The quantity of garlic, allspice, and cloves is up to you. If you like big flavors add more, if you have a shy palate perhaps you might like less.

Prepare the vegetables your using and then arrange them in the jars, alternating layers of the vegetable with the onions and the jalapeños filling the jar to the top. Pour the hot pickle brine into the jars. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 7 to 14 days before serving.