Quick pickles are the least effortful thing in cooking with the largest return. Ten minutes of work turns vegetables that were about to go soft into a jar that makes every meal for the next month taste finished. No sterilising, no equipment, no canning.
The ratio to remember
One part vinegar, one part water, one tablespoon of sugar and two teaspoons of salt per 250 millilitres of liquid. Heat until the salt and sugar dissolve, pour over the vegetables in a jar, and leave to cool. That is it. They are edible in an hour, good the next day, and better after three. They keep in the fridge for about a month.
What to pickle
Anything crunchy and anything about to stop being crunchy: red onion, cucumber, carrot, radish, cabbage, fennel, green beans, cauliflower, chilli, and the stalks of broccoli or chard. Red onion is the one to start with. Sliced thin and covered in brine for twenty minutes, it goes pink, loses its harshness and improves sandwiches, salads, beans, eggs, roasted vegetables and almost anything else you were about to eat plain.
Flavour the brine or do not
The plain version is already useful. If you want more: a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, mustard seed, a clove of garlic, a strip of lemon peel, dill, or a dried chilli. Different vinegars give different results. Cider and white wine vinegar are the most versatile; rice vinegar is milder; malt vinegar is strong and specific. Do not use balsamic — it is too sweet and turns everything brown.
Why every kitchen needs a sharp jar
Most home cooking that tastes dull is missing acid, and a pickle is acid in a form you can add at the table. A spoonful on top of rice, a stew, a fried egg or a plate of leftovers does what a squeeze of lemon does but with texture. That makes a jar of pickles the cheapest way to rescue a repetitive week of eating.
It is also a way of stopping waste
Half a cucumber, three radishes, the last of a cabbage and a carrot going bendy are not enough for a dish but are exactly enough for a jar. Pickling buys them another month. Do it on the day you would otherwise have looked at them with doubt. Ten minutes then saves the whole lot.
Equal vinegar and water, a spoon of sugar, two of salt. Pour it hot over whatever is about to go soft, and by tomorrow you have the thing most home cooking is missing.