Quick Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

This recipe for Pickled Cucumbers and Onions is quick and easy to make. Cucumbers and onions are soaked in a brine of water, sugar, vinegar, and a few spices to make a ready-to-eat treat that goes well with almost any other dish or by itself for a quick and tasty snack.

4 Methods to Pickle Vegetables

There are four general methods for pickling: Quick-Pickle Method, Salt-Brined Method, Vinegar-Brined Method, and the Fermented Method. Each pickling method has its own benefits, and some produce works better with one method or another.

• Quick-Pickle Method: Items that are pickled using the quick-pickle technique sometimes are called “fresh pickles. This works well with cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower, hot or sweet peppers, and green beans, among other vegetables. Fruits such as cherries and crab apples also are great for quick pickling.
• Salt-Brined Method: Some vegetables, such as cucumbers and zucchini, benefit from having some of their natural water removed before the pickling liquid is added. By adding salt – either on its own or in a salt-water brine – the water is drawn out of the vegetables’ cells. This allows the pickling liquid to penetrate into the cells more thoroughly, giving the pickling items more flavor, better texture, and longer shelf life.
• Vinegar-Brined Method: These pickled items are a little more complex to make than the previous two methods. The vinegar-brined technique basically follows the same process for salt-brined pickles – drawing the water out of the vegetables’ or fruits’ cells to make room for the pickling liquid. In this method, the water is gradually drawn out in stages by soaking, draining, and soaking again, using a vinegar solution, sometimes in combination with a salt-water brine and often with plenty of sugar.
• Fermented Method: This is a considerably different technique from the others, though it uses salt-water brine. The vegetables are covered in a salt-water brine, weighed down to make sure the vegetables are immersed, and left at a specific temperature – usually at room temperature – to ferment.

How to Store Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

Store these Pickled Cucumbers and Onions in a glass jar with an airtight lid in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

History of Pickling

Pickles have been around for thousands of years, dating as far back as 2030 BC when cucumbers from their native India were pickled in the Tigris Valley.

The word “pickle” comes from the Dutch “pekel” or northern German “pókel”, meaning “salt” or “brine,” two very important components in the pickling process.

The Metropolitan City of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area, and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Found within the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the “Venice of the North”, due to the large number of canals that form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Brief History of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Due to its geographical location in what used to be wet peatland, the founding of Amsterdam is of a younger age than the founding of other urban centers in the Low Countries. However, in and around the area of what later became Amsterdam, local farmers settled as early as three millennia ago. They lived along the prehistoric IJ river and upstream of its tributary Amstel.

Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306. From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League.

In the 16th century, the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors. The main reasons for the uprising were the imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and the religious persecution of Protestants by the newly introduced Inquisition. The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years’ War, which ultimately led to Dutch independence.

The 17th century is considered Amsterdam’s Golden Age, during which it became the wealthiest city in the western world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, forming the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam’s merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company.

Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and took control of the country. Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to a high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps, of whom some 60,000 lived in Amsterdam.

In the 21st century, the Amsterdam city center has attracted large numbers of tourists: between 2012 and 2015, the annual number of visitors rose from 10 to 17 million. Real estate prices have surged, and local shops are making way for tourist-oriented ones, making the center unaffordable for the city’s inhabitants. These developments have evoked comparisons with Venice, a city thought to be overwhelmed by the tourist influx.

Tourism in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system, and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.

The Dutch Cuisine

Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country’s cuisine is shaped by its location in the fertile North Sea river delta of the European Plain, giving rise to fishing, farming (for crops and domesticated animals), and trading over the sea, its former colonial empire, and the spice trade.

– Featured Restaraunt –

Firma Pickles Burgers & Wines
Drieharingstraat 1, 3511 BH Utrecht, Netherlands
Telephone: +31 30 231 7971

You will find Pickles in the Drieharingstraat, the restaurant street in Utrecht. The street is located right in the center between the Oude Gracht and the Vredenburg, within walking distance of the many shopping streets. Pickles can be perfectly combined with a performance in the TivoliVredenburg music center. The kitchen is open daily from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM. This way you can still walk in later in the evening. We are also open for lunch from 12:00 on Friday to Sunday.

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How to Make This Quick Pickled Cucumbers and Onions Recipe

Just make sure to slice all the cucumbers you use in a batch about the same thickness. If you like you can vary the veggies and get adventurous with the herbs.

What You Need to Make Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

How to Mix Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

This recipe is so simple and easy to make, low in calories, and super good. There is no cooking involved in this recipe, just a bit of mixing and slicing.

The sliced cucumbers and red onions soak up the sweet and tangy vinegar dressing and it tastes so fresh and delicious. This is a great, light side dish for barbecues, picnics, or potlucks. You can serve them immediately or store them in the fridge to eat as a snack or to complement a meal.