Preserve the harvest · Savory preserves 1 of 4
Salt-brine pickles
The original pickle: no vinegar, just a salt brine. Good bacteria turn the vegetables sour and leave them full of live probiotics. Cucumbers are classic, but carrots, green beans, radishes, cauliflower and peppers all work.
Warda PatelDreamDrop Gardens, Plano TX4 min readUpdated November 2026
The recipe
Savory · 1 of 4
Just salt, water & time
Salt-brine pickles
The original pickle: no vinegar, just a salt brine. Good bacteria turn the vegetables sour and leave them full of live probiotics. Cucumbers are classic, but carrots, green beans, radishes, cauliflower and peppers all work.
- Makes
- 1 quart jar
- Time
- 15 min + 3–7 days
- Keeps
- Months in the fridge
Ingredients
- 1–1½ lbsmall pickling cucumbers or other firm vegetables
- 4 cupschlorine-free water (filtered, or boiled and cooled)
- 2 Tbspnon-iodized salt, about 35 g (sea, kosher or pickling salt)
- 4–6garlic cloves
- 2–3dill heads, or 1 Tbsp dill seed
- 1 tsp eachblack peppercorns and mustard seed
- Optional1–2 grape, oak or black tea leaves for extra crunch
Method
Step 1: Make the brine
Stir the salt into the water until it dissolves. This is about a 3.5% brine.
Step 2: Prep
Trim a thin slice off the blossom end of each cucumber (it holds enzymes that soften pickles). Cut other vegetables into sticks or florets.
Step 3: Pack
Put the garlic, dill and spices in the jar, then pack the vegetables in tightly.
Step 4: Cover with brine
Pour in brine to cover, leaving an inch of space at the top. Add a weight so everything stays under the brine.
Step 5: Ferment
Cover loosely and leave at room temperature (65–75°F), out of the sun. Within a few days the brine turns cloudy and bubbly. That means it's working.
Step 6: Taste and chill
Start tasting on day 3. When they're as sour as you like, usually 3–7 days, move the jar to the fridge.
A note on safety
These recipes are made to be kept in the fridge or freezer. To store jars at room temperature, use a tested water-bath canning recipe, such as those from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and follow it exactly. Never keep garlic or herbs in oil at room temperature, use clean jars and dry spoons, and when in doubt, throw it out.