Easy Refrigerator Pickled Vegetables (No Sterilizing)
Ever since I was a child, we prepare these easy refrigerator pickled vegetables in my family. We make them few days before big winter holidays like Christmas and New Year. We serve them along with other appetizers on our festive table. This recipe is very easy because it doesn’t require boiling or sterilization. You can prepare it very quickly. Just cut your favorite vegetables, add them in a jar with salt, sugar, vinegar, and water and refrigerate. Shake the jar once a day and they will be ready to eat in less than a week.
Homemade pickled vegetables were always a staple in my family. Everyone from the oldest to youngest was involved in canning. We had special days dedicated to pickling because it was a whole production line. The parents were cutting the vegetables while the kids were adding them to the jars. It was a lot of work, but I loved it so much, because for me it was a learning and bonding experience. My grandma would always share her wisdom and recipes with me. When I moved to the United States, I took few of those recipes with me. One of them is for these easy refrigerator pickled vegetables.
What vegetables can you pickle?
You can pickle almost every vegetable the is, but my personal preference is a mixture of the following vegetables.
Cauliflower – it tastes great when it is pickled. It remains crunchy and firm. Cut it to bite-sized florets before pickling.
Green tomatoes – the only way I like to eat green tomatoes is when they are pickled. Since they are firm, they tase very fresh and crunchy when they are pickled. Cut it to bite sized pieces and remove the stem before pickling.
Carrots – most kids love pickled carrots even if they don’t like raw ones. When I prepare them for pickling, I trim the ends, peel and I cut them to rounds.
Bell peppers – you can use any color bell pepper, but I prefer red or orange ones. Before pickling wash them, remove the stems and the seeds. Cut them to bite size pieces.
Garlic – to prepare it you need to peel and wash it. If the cloves are small, you can pickle them whole or sliced to rounds.
Helpful tips for Pickling Vegetables
I don’t know how many jars you need. It depends on the size of your vegetables. Every time I make this recipe I end up with a different amount of jars.
I prefer to use wide mouth, glass jars. You don’t need to sterilize the jars in advance. Just wash them well.
I usually use two larger jars instead of several 32 oz (946 ml). Just remember that you have to calculate how many oz or ml are in that jar and add more salt, sugar and vinegar. For example, for a half a gallon jar you will need to add 4 tablespoons of salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and one cup of vinegar.
You can use whatever vegetables you want. Also, you can adjust the amount you need.
You can also replace the sugar with honey. This will work well but I prefer using sugar because of it has neutral flavor. If you use honey, you will be able to taste the honey taste in your vegetables.
Fill your jars to the top with water. Make sure that the liquid covers the vegetables. This will ensure even pickling.
The vegetables will take different time to pickle. Usually, all of them are ready after 6-7 days in the refrigerator. Taste occasionally to check for doneness.
Since there is no sterilization and boiling, the pickled vegetables will last you about a month in the refrigerator. After that you might notice that they are becoming softer and the cauliflower might change its color to yellow.
Easy Refrigerator Pickled Vegetables
Equipment
- 5-6 32 oz wide mouth glass jars or 2 half gallon gars
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower cut to florets
- 2 bell peppers stem and seeds removed
- 2 green tomatoes cut to bite sized pieces
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut to rounds
- 4-5 garlic cloves peeled and cut to rounds
- salt I used sea salt
- sugar
- apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower to florets, bell peppers and green tomatoes to bite sized pieces. Peel the carrots and the garlic and cut them to rounds.
- Divide the cut vegetables between the wide mouth jars. To each 32 oz jar add 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons salt and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Then fill the jar with water until the vegetables are covered and close the jar with a lid tightly. Store the jars in the refrigerator. Once a day flip the jars few times to stir the pickling juice. After three days taste for doneness. Different vegetables take different time to get ready. Some vegetables will be pickled after three days (bell peppers) other might be ready after a week (carrots). In about a week all the vegetables will be equally pickled.
- Since there is no sterilization and boiling, the pickled vegetables will last you about a month in the refrigerator. After that you might notice that they are becoming softer and the cauliflower might change its color to yellow.
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