End of the Garden Pickle

This is the pickle you make when the garden is winding down and you’ve got a little bit of everything but not enough of anything for a full batch. Cucumbers, green tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, celery, onions, carrots, and green beans, one cup of each, all preserved together in a sweet vinegar brine spiked with mustard seed and celery seed.

The overnight salt water soak draws moisture out of the raw vegetables and firms them up. Without this step, the veggies go limp and mushy in the jar. After draining, the carrots and green beans get a quick cook in boiling water since they’re too hard to eat raw even after pickling.

The brine is simple: vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, and celery seed boiled together for 10 minutes. It’s sweet and tangy with little pops of spice from the seeds. Poured hot over the drained vegetables and sealed in jars, these pickles develop more flavor over the first few weeks as the brine penetrates each vegetable.

Kitchen Tips

• Cut all vegetables to roughly the same size for even pickling and consistent texture in every bite.
• Don’t skip the overnight salt soak. It’s what keeps the vegetables crisp instead of soggy.
• Make sure the brine is boiling when you pour it over the packed jars for proper sealing.
• Let the jars sit at least 2 weeks before opening. The flavor improves with time.

Variations

• Add cauliflower florets or corn kernels if your garden has them.
• Toss in a few dried chili flakes to the brine for a spicy version.