Crunchy, fermented and great for your gut, homemade pickles are a perfect snack or side dish to your fave summertime foods – but pickling is a long, arduous process when done the old-fashioned way. We stepped into the kitchen with Meredith Baird, chef, cookbook author and coconut kitchen queen, to try our hand at ‘quick pickles’ earlier this month and these beet-stained carrots are the gorgeous result.
Quick pickles can be made overnight (read: way more often!) using almost any veggie and a bit of salt. We love this method for keeping our veggie intake high – and varied. Grabbed something from the farmer’s market and don’t know what to do with it? Quick pickling is the perfect way to preserve. Try them for yourself below and grab the ultimate accompaniment, also from our day with Meredith, this fizzy and gut-friendly coconut water kefir. Capture the best flavors of the season with the simple step-by-step below…
Sweet + Sour Quick Pickles
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients:
For the salty brine:
4 cups filtered water
3 Tbsp sea salt
For the sweet and sour brine:
1 cup salty brine
1-2 Tbsp raw honey
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp sauerkraut juice, kefir or kombucha (optional)
For the pickles:
3-4 cups julienned vegetables of your choice.
(we used heirloom baby carrots and radishes – plus beet stems for color)
Directions:
For the salty brine:
Whisk together salt and water until all salt is dissolved. This makes one quart of salty brine that can be used on its own.
For the sweet and sour brine:
Whisk ingredients together until honey is dissolved.
For the pickles:
Fill a quart jar with julienned vegetables of your choice. Cucumbers, zucchini, celery, beets and cauliflower all work really well. Cover vegetables with sweet and sour brine. Seal jar. Allow to sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Keeps for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
