Refrigerator Pickles

ickling vegetables, regardless of the method, is a means to elevate the raw produce into a zippy condiment. Cucumbers, my pickler of choice today, demand that I preserve their crunch. I, of course, oblige by giving them the cold shoulder.



Refrigerator Pickles
4 large cucumbers, washed and cut into halves (crossways)
1/2 sliced small yellow onion
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine the wet ingredients and seasoning in a wide, shallow container with tight-fitting lid until sugar and salt dissolve. Add cucumbers and onions and refrigerate, shaking occasionally to coat, for at least 24 hours before serving. More cucumbers can be added to the pickling brine as they are harvested.