Pickles & Brines

House Pickle Brine

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Prep

10 min

Cook

5 min

Total

15 min

Serves

Makes about 100 ml brine (enough for 2 cucumbers; scale up as needed)

The standard quick pickle that goes on everything. White vinegar, a little sugar, coriander seed, garlic, and bay. The brine boils and pours hot over whatever you are pickling — cucumbers, onion, radish, carrots. Crisp and tangy in under an hour.

Ingredients

60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar
1 heaped tsp sugar
½ tsp coriander seed
½ tsp salt
½ garlic clove, cracked
½ tsp fresh cilantro
½ bay leaf
2 cucumbers, sliced into thin rounds (or vegetable of choice)

Instructions

1
Combine the vinegar, sugar, coriander seed, salt, garlic, cilantro, and bay leaf in a small saucepan.
2
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve.
3
Pour the hot brine directly over sliced vegetables in a heatproof container.
4
Let cool to room temperature, then seal and refrigerate.
5
Ready once cooled; better after a few hours.

Cook's Note

Always pour brine hot — it is what makes these ready in under an hour. Cold brine needs overnight.

How to Use This

Taco topping, garnish for braised meats, side condiment for anything rich. Use whatever vegetable makes sense: cucumbers, radish, red onion, jalapeño, carrots. Drain lightly before using.

Why This Foundation Works

Pouring the brine hot over raw vegetables lightly softens the surface, which lets the acid absorb faster. The coriander and bay give it a warm background note — the difference between a house pickle and straight vinegar.

Make It Yours

Bread & butter pickles: salt cucumber slices and refrigerate for 1.5 hours first, then drain without rinsing. Brine: 95 g sugar + 120 ml white vinegar + 60 ml apple cider vinegar + 2 tbsp brown sugar + ¾ tsp mustard seeds + ¼ tsp celery seeds + ¼ tsp turmeric. Add sliced onion and jalapeños to the container, then pour brine over. Ready after 24 hours in the fridge.
Jalapeño vegetable escabeche: larger brine for a full tray — 300 ml distilled white vinegar + 150 ml red wine vinegar + 220 ml water + 60 ml smashed garlic + 1½ tbsp lime juice + 1 tsp dried oregano + salt + sugar + bay leaves. Boil, add vegetables (jalapeños poked, sliced carrots, cauliflower florets, quartered onion), cook 5 minutes, transfer to a container and cool. Keeps for weeks.
Red onion escabeche: no boiling needed. Whisk 160 ml white vinegar + 160 ml orange juice + 160 ml sugar until dissolved. Press julienned red onions into the brine and refrigerate overnight. The orange juice rounds out the vinegar sharpness.