Everything You Need to Start Making Your Own Pickles

Learning to pickle is a transformational skill. If that sounds hyperbolic, then we’ll dial it down. It’s only a little bit life changing (which totally a reasonable thing to say).

With that skill, at any given moment, you are only about 5 minutes away from canning your own batch of home made pickles. It’s seriously that easy. Before you know it, pickles will become a staple in your refrigerator, and start occupying more of its previous real estate.

To understand our excitement for pickles, it is important to understand why it is such a versatile condiment. Almost anything can be pickled. Vegetables, fruits, and even nuts. You name it, we’ve probably tried to pickle it.

This versatility is also part of the reason pickles exist in virtually every culture and style of cooking. That means there is a lot to learn, and beginning to make your own is the first step in expanding your culinary horizons.

The magic of pickling is that regardless of the primary ingredient, it follows the same process. The aromatics and spices and may change. But at its core, pickling is a combination of vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.

That process produces a uniquely delicious result, and is intended to preserve fresh produce throughout the year long past its harvest. If you care about your produce, you probably care about extending its shelf life well past your farmers market hauls.

For the homecook, homemade pickles are highly functional and versatile. Whether they serve as a main ingredient or garnish, it is an easy way of elevating the flavor or texture of your dish. Given the low barrier to entry, there’s no reason to rely on grocery store pickles anymore.

If you’re interested in making your own pickles, here’s everything you’ll need (Full disclosure - The products listed below are linked to our Amazon affiliate site. That being said, it really is everything you need to pickle!):

mason jars

Mason jars are great. They are incredible versatile and can be used for almost every kitchen task. Storage, consumption, organization. You name it, and we probably have a mason jar for it.

Now hipsters may have adopted mason jars as their favorite drinking glass, but we must not forget that their intended purpose is for canning preserves (jams and pickles). And they are quite perfect for it as well. As a material, glass does not foster bacterial growth (while plastic can support colonies) and does not absorb the odor. This makes them perfect for pickling since it ensures the process is safe and sustainable. No need to buy new containers for each batch, and no need to worry about a biology experiment gone bad.

Although we are huge fans of mason jars, it is important to remember that not all mason jars are created equal. Because of this, it is important to have a wide range of different sized mason jars. Sometimes you’ll have excess vegetables and brine. Other times you may only have couple scraps.

Your pickling adventures will always start and end with a mason jar, so invest accordingly.

Canning set

Depending on who you ask, the canning step may range from not important to absolutely necessary. Think of the canning step as a precaution against any bacterial or mold growth that could develop in the pickle brine. It is a means of sanitizing your equipment to guarantee that no residue from previous uses impacts the current project.

The canning set allows you to handle your mason jars in high heat applications without harm. You know what they say, health is wealth. So prioritize your kitchen safety.

fermentation weights

Although it may not seem like a necessity, fermentation weights are an important tool producing consistent, uniform pickles. They are a fun kitchen accessory (how many people do you know have fermentation weights in their drawer?) and are super easy to use.

The weights are simply placed on top of the pickle mixture before canning. This ensures that everything intended to be pickled is sufficiently submerged into the brine. Without the weights, things will still pickle, but there is a higher variance in the degree of pickling for everything in the mixture.

Things at the bottom may be more pickled than those at the top (which has a tendency to separate in the brine). Besides, the weights are also a subtle way to speed up the fermentation process. It takes less time to pickle when the primary ingredients are in contact with more of the brine.

You know the saying: Buy fermentation weights so you do not have to wait for fermentation.

If you’ve been blessed with the patience to naturally wait for your kitchen projects, then maybe consider this. The weights also serve as a seal between the mixture and the ambient air trapped in the mason jar. This may not seem like much, but it makes the entire process more sanitary. Bacterial growth and mold may propagate with exposure to that ambient air (however little may be present) and moisture. Although vinegar naturally prevents bacterial growth, fermentation weights can also help eliminate that possibility.

labels

Even if have everything you need to begin pickling, why not have a little fun and try to get cute with it? Additional benefits to labeling include: Organization, remembering the date you made your pickles, looking like you are super on top of things, and feeling like a real chef.

Let us know if you have started making your own pickles!