Fridge pickles are the quickest way to deal with a run of cucumbers: one jar takes about 20 minutes, and the slices are ready to eat after a day or three. There is no boiling-water bath, so the jar lives in the fridge from the moment it is filled and never goes in the cupboard. This is a tested recipe, so keep the vinegar, water and salt exactly as written.
- Makes
- one jar of about 500 ml
- Prep
- about 20 minutes
- Ready to eat
- after 1–3 days in the fridge
- Keeps
- up to 3 months, in the fridge only
- In season
- mid-summer to mid-autumn under cover; outdoor crops, where they succeed, usually finish by September
Ingredients
- 160 ml vinegar labelled at least 5% acidity
- 80 ml water
- 1 tsp salt, ideally pickling salt or salt with no added iodine or anti-caking agent
- 2–4 tsp sugar
- 1–2 tbsp seasonings (see below)
- about 350 ml sliced cucumber (measure the slices in a jug)
A good starting mix for the seasonings is 1 garlic clove, ⅛ tsp dried chilli flakes and 1 tsp dill seed.
Method
- Wash your hands.
- Rinse or scrub the cucumbers under running water. For extra crispness, soak them whole in iced water for 4–5 hours first (see Keeping them crisp).
- Cut a thin slice, about 2 mm, off the blossom end of each cucumber (the end where the flower was), then slice them into rounds or spears that fit the jar.
- Put the vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a small pan and heat until it simmers, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.
- Put the seasonings in the bottom of a clean jar.
- Pack in the measured slices firmly, leaving about 1 cm of space at the top.
- Pour in the vinegar mixture while it is still warm, until every slice is covered.
- Close the jar with a clean lid (a lid with a coating on the inside stands up to vinegar best; the jars guide explains), write the date on it and put it straight in the fridge.
- Leave it for 1–3 days for the flavours to develop before eating.
Why these stay in the fridge
Cucumber is a low-acid vegetable. Vinegar makes it safe to keep only when there is enough acid spread evenly through the whole jar, which is why the proportions matter so much. The recipe is tested for cucumber only, so don't swap in courgette, carrot or other vegetables.
| Fridge pickles | Water-bath pickles (e.g. pickled beetroot) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jars after filling | Lidded and straight into the fridge | Processed in boiling water for a set time |
| Where unopened jars live | Fridge | Cool, dark, dry cupboard |
| Keeping time | Up to 3 months | Up to a year sealed |
| Once opened | Stays in the fridge | Into the fridge |
Count the 3 months from the date on the lid, and put the jar back in the fridge as soon as you've served from it. For a cupboard pickle, pickled beetroot is a tested water-bath recipe. To compare keeping times with jams and chutneys, see how long preserves keep.
The vinegar rules
- Use any vinegar, malt included, labelled at least 5% acidity. White distilled and cider vinegar are the usual pickling choices. Don't use a vinegar of unknown strength.
- Keep the vinegar and water at 2 parts to 1. Never cut the vinegar or add more water to soften the taste.
- Use the measured amount of cucumber, no more. The vinegar has to cover every slice. If it runs short, make a little more at the same 2:1 ratio rather than topping up with water.
If the pickles taste too sharp, change the seasonings or go up to the full 4 teaspoons of sugar (or use the sweet version below), never less vinegar.
Seasonings
Use 1–2 tablespoons of seasonings per jar, no more, chosen from these:
- Fresh: basil, coriander, dill, garlic, ginger, hot pepper, onion, oregano, thyme
- Dried: bay leaf, celery seed, cumin or dill seed, dried chilli, peppercorns, pickling spice, turmeric
The garlic and herbs sit in vinegar here, which is what keeps them safe. Never add oil to the jar: garlic or herbs kept in oil carry a botulism risk.
For a sweet pickle, use about 65 g of sugar per jar in the pan instead of the 2–4 teaspoons. Everything else stays the same.
Making more than one jar
Scale the whole batch together. The 2:1 vinegar-to-water ratio never changes.
| Jars (about 500 ml each) | Vinegar | Water | Salt | Sugar | Cucumber slices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 160 ml | 80 ml | 1 tsp | 2–4 tsp | about 350 ml |
| 2 | 320 ml | 160 ml | 2 tsp | 4–8 tsp | about 700 ml |
| 3 | 480 ml | 240 ml | 3 tsp | 6–12 tsp | about 1 litre |
Put 1–2 tablespoons of seasonings in each jar.
Cucumbers from the plot
Home-grown cucumbers have one big advantage: you can pickle them the day you pick them. For the best quality, pickle within 24 hours of picking. Whole fresh cucumbers keep only about a week in the fridge, so a jar of pickles buys you far more time. Small cucumbers of about 10 cm are the classic size for dill pickles.
Outdoor plants can't go out until temperatures are reliably above 12°C, which is harder to count on in a Scottish summer, so a greenhouse or polytunnel is the surer source of a crop to pickle. Pick fruit before it turns yellowish, bulbous or soft; the cucumber growing guide covers growing and harvesting under cover and outdoors. When the plants are producing faster than you can pickle, dealing with a glut of cucumbers has other ideas.
Keeping them crisp
- Trim the blossom end (step 3). It holds enzymes that can soften the pickles.
- Soaking whole cucumbers in iced water for 4–5 hours before slicing helps them stay crisp. You don't need lime or alum.
- Pickling salt, or salt with no added iodine, keeps the liquid clear. The anti-caking agents in other salt can make it cloudy.
When to throw a jar out
Throw the jar out without tasting if the pickles turn soft, slippery or slimy, if you see any mould, if the jar smells wrong, or if liquid spurts out when you open it.
Common questions
Can I use less sugar?
Stay within 2 to 4 teaspoons per jar, or use the sweet version. Those are the amounts the recipe was tested at.
Do I need to sterilise the jar?
A clean jar and a clean lid are enough. You can sterilise the jar if you prefer, but that doesn't make the pickles keep longer than 3 months. The guide to jars for preserving helps with choosing a jar and lid.
Can I pickle a long greenhouse cucumber?
Yes. The recipe calls for sliced cucumber, not whole fruit, so slice it like any other. Pick it firm and pickle it within a day for the best texture.
Can I reuse the pickling liquid for another batch?
No. Pickling liquid has to be of known strength, and once it has pickled a batch its strength is no longer known. Make fresh liquid for every jar.
Sources
Show the 11 sources
- Refrigerator Pickled Cucumbers (Oregon State University Extension Service, Food Hero): Recipe proportions based on: Oregon State University Extension Service (Food Hero). Ingredients, yield, prep time, method, headspace, 1–3 days before eating, fridge storage and use within 3 months, seasoning lists and suggested combination, sweet variation
- Food Preservation: Quick-Process Pickles, HYG-5345 (Ohio State University Extension): White distilled or cider vinegar of 5–6% acidity; blossom-end enzymes and trimming about 2 mm; canning or pickling salt; no lime or alum needed; iced-water soak of 4–5 hours for crispness; pickling within 24 hours of picking
- Making Pickles (Colorado State University Extension): 5% acidity vinegar; blossom-end enzyme softening; anti-caking agents in other salt clouding the liquid; soft, slippery or slimy pickles are spoiled and should be thrown out
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): 5% acidity vinegar; don't alter vinegar, food or water proportions or use vinegar of unknown acidity; minimum uniform acid level throughout the product
- Ensuring Safe Canned Foods (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): Fresh vegetables are low-acid foods
- Pickled Beets (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): Pickled beetroot as a tested water-bath recipe in the comparison table
- Storing Home Canned Foods (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): Sealed water-bath jars kept cool, dark and dry and used within a year; opened jars to the fridge; spoilage signs (unnatural smell, spurting liquid, mould) and not tasting suspect jars
- Field to Fork: Cucumbers (NDSU Extension): About 10 cm cucumbers for dill pickles; fresh cucumbers keep about a week in the fridge
- Botulism (Clostridium botulinum) (Food Standards Agency, via GOV.UK): Herbs or garlic in oil are risky
- Cucumbers: grow your own (RHS): Harvest season under cover and outdoors; outdoor planting once temperatures are reliably above 12°C
- Frequently Asked Preservation Question: Pinholes in Lids (Penn State Extension): Acids corrode metal lids; enamel-coated lids