At Edinburgh Food Social, we are all about using local, seasonal produce in our cooking. Those that are new to seasonal cooking and eating often worry that, at certain times of year, their diet might become restricted. For example, some people think eating seasonally in the depths of winter means only eating root vegetables, and this would be partially true, were it not for preserved foods.
In a nutshell, we preserve foods so they can then be used throughout the year. This can be particularly useful if you find yourself with a glut of produce and are not able to use it all up. There are many ways to preserve foods, including salting, freezing, and even curing. (You can learn how to cure fish here.) However, one of the most popular means of preserving is pickling.
While often used as a way to increase the shelf life of food, pickling is also used as a culinary technique. Pickled vegetables are a great addition to finish dishes off, providing a pop of fresh flavour to salads, or a sharp, bright contrast to a cut through a rich stew. For these reasons, many chefs, pickle vegetables and other foods, not to prevent excess food from going off, but to create new textures and flavours.
Although very fashionable these days, pickling is not a new technique and has been used as a food preservation method for thousands of years. Not only is pickling a great way to reduce food waste and brighten up your cooking, there is also some evidence that eating pickled foods can be good for our gut health and digestion – it’s a win-win!

Pieces of pickled cucumber and beetroot.
How To Pickle Foods
Make Your Pickling Liquor:
Making jars of pickled vegetables at home couldn’t be simpler, all you need is vinegar, sugar, water and some clean jars. The choice of vinegar you use is entirely up to you; different vinegars will give a slightly different flavour profile to your final pickles. For example, white wine and apple cider vinegar (the most commonly used vinegars) give pickles a delicate, slightly tangy flavour, while the stronger-tasting red wine vinegar is great for pickling more robust vegetables like beetroot or red cabbage. Another option to consider is rice wine vinegar which boasts a mild, slightly sweet flavour.
A great starting point is to use a 3:2:1 ratio of vinegar, water, and sugar. For example, this might be 300ml vinegar, 200ml of water and 100g of sugar. To make your pickling liquor, simply add all the ingredients into a pan, bring it up to the boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Once all the sugar has dissolved, your pickling liquor is ready to go!
You can change the ratio of vinegar, water and sugar. If you prefer your pickles a little less sharp, then you could try equal quantities of vinegar and water; if you prefer your pickles a little sweeter, then simply increase the quantity of sugar. Remember, there is no wrong way to pickle vegetables!
Add Your Flavourings:
The next thing you need to prepare are your flavourings. These could be herbs, like thyme, dill or rosemary; spices, such as peppercorns, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and star anise; or other flavourings, such as slices of chilli, ginger or garlic. Again, we encourage you to experiment and personalise the flavourings to your own tastes.
Once you’ve decided what flavourings you’d like to use, simply add them to your prepared pickling liquor or pop them in your sterilised jars.

A bowl of pickled grapes.
Prepare Your Vegetables:
You can pickle most vegetables, and even some fruits (such as, apples, pears or grapes). To do so, just clean and chop your chosen vegetables. Again, this is a point where you can play about with the end result; how you choose to cut your veg up will affect how quickly the vegetables will pickle. For example, larger chunks (e.g. whole baby cucumbers) will take longer to pickle than thin slices of cucumber. The main thing is, there isn’t really a right or wrong way to chop your veg, just slice them evenly to fit in whatever jars you have.
Jar The Pickles:
Now, with everything ready to go, it is simply a case of putting your prepared vegetables into your clean and sterilised jar, pouring over your prepared pickling liquor (which includes your flavourings), and sealing. If you do this while it is still hot, then the pickling flavour will be absorbed slightly faster, and the vegetables will soften in the hot liquid. If you allow the pickling liquor to cool down before pouring it over the vegetables, they are likely to retain a little more crunch in your veg (although the pickling itself will ultimately soften the veg over time).
A little patience is now required before you get sampling. Larger pieces of vegetables should be left for at least 24 hours. On the other hand, small pieces, like thin slices of pickled cucumber or onion, will be ready to eat within a couple of hours. The longer you leave the pickles, the deeper and more complex their flavour will become.
The pickles can now be stored in the fridge for a couple of months, ready and waiting to add a new, fresh flavour to your salads, sandwiches or stews.
By using the above method you can pickle just about anything, but if you need some inspiration, you can find some of our favourite pickling recipes below.
Dill Pickled Cucumber
Ingredients:
- 2 whole cucumbers
- 300ml white wine vinegar
- 150ml water
- 100g caster sugar
- Handful of fresh dill fronds (or 2 tsp dried)
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
Method:
- Place vinegar, sugar and water into a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved.
- Lightly toast the mustard and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan for a minute or two, until aromatic. Add them into the pickling liquor.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers and pack into sterilised jars.
- Allow the pickling mix to cool and then pour it over the cucumber slices before sealing the jars.

A jar of pickled cucumbers.
Pickled Beetroot
Ingredients:
- 500g beetroot
- 300ml red wine vinegar
- 200g caster sugar
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- ½ tbsp coriander seeds
- ½ tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- ½ tbsp dried chilli flakes
Method:
- Clean the beetroots and place them into a large pan. Cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour or until the beetroots are tender. Remove from the water and allow to cool. Reserve the cooking liquid.
- Once cool, peel the beetroot and chop into quarters or ½ cm slices, depending on the size of your beetroot.
- Toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns and chilli flakes in a dry pan until fragrant.
- Add the red wine vinegar, sugar, 100ml of the beetroot cooking liquid and a pinch of salt into a pan along with the toasted spices and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pack the beetroot into sterilised jars, add in the thyme and pour over the pickling liquid.
Pink Pickled Onions
This is an even simpler example of pickling using just citrus juice. It goes great with Mexican food! As these ones are pickled only in citrus juice, rather than vinegar and sugar, they won’t keep for more than a few days, but are super quick to make and can be enjoyed almost straight away.
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion
- 30ml fresh lime juice
- 40ml fresh orange juice
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Peel, halve and thinly slice your red onion.
- Cover the onion with boiling water and leave for 30 seconds, then drain. (This helps to speed up the pickling process and reduce the slightly harsh flavour of raw onion.)
- Squeeze over the lime and orange juice and add in the pinch of salt. Using your fingers, scrunch the onions around in this mixture for 30 seconds.
- Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes then serve.