Fomenting ferment

Did you know that the two most beautiful words in the English language are, no, not cellar door, but fridge pickles?

Of course you did--and that is why we're friends.

Did you also know that contrary to all probability, this is only the second post I've ever done about homemade pickles? (The first was way back in my first month of blogging... and wow, do I miss my old kitchen. So light-filled! So charmingly enameled! Let's keep my memory rosy by not dwelling on the effects of three male roommates and a cockroach infestation.) Considering how much time I spend thinking about pickles and how much I want to be eating them at every opportunity, those are some pretty staggering odds.

My "recipe" for fridge pickles is less a recipe than a list of suggested guidelines. To wit:

VEGGIE PREP
I almost always pickle my veggies raw. I've heard that you can improve the texture of some pickles vegetables, like carrots or green beans, by blanching them first... but I'm lazy and perfectly satisfied with my current level of pickle crisp. The snap of those cukes and okra, above, is audible at 10 paces.

Obviously, I wash and stem everything. I prefer cucumber spears, so I quarter those lengthwise; if I have small cucumbers, I pickle them whole, like supersize cornichons. I also leave okra whole, though I do make one small incision to better let the brine in.

BRINE
I generally eyeball how much liquid is needed to submerge whatever I'm pickling and use half distilled white vinegar, half water. If I'm short, I make up the rest with water. I add about two heavy teaspoons of kosher salt per pint of pickles.

FLAVORING
Fresh dill, garlic, and cracked black pepper is mandatory for cucumbers. I'm sorry, but there's just no other way. I like to have one garlic clove per whole cucumber/four spears, but I'm also an unrepentant aliumphile. I also like a good tablespoon of black pepper per pint and as much dill as I can stuff under, over, and around.

For okra, I also add whole cumin seeds and crushed red pepper, around 1 teaspoon each per pint batch.

THE WAITING GAME
I try to wait 48 hours before I begin to chomp down, but really, I start nibbling the next day.

STORAGE
I've heard that fridge pickles will keep in the fridge for up to three months, but that is utterly ridiculous: you will eat a pint of pickles, by yourself, in under three days. I don't think a single batch I've made has lasted longer than a week.

REUSING
I reuse my brine up to three times, adding judicious amounts of salt and spices to refresh it. After a while, though, it's best to start with a fresh mixture.

RELATED "RECIPES"
Besides the usual applications, there is really nothing like a Bloody Mary with a splash of pickle brine and a cucumber spear or whole okra pod. Chopped pickles and a few spoonfuls of brine in cold potato salad is another winner.

I'm about to start a batch of pickled radishes and another of pickled fennel. I'll let you know how they turn out!