Pickle

These spiced-packed pickles are the perfect combination of tart and sweet, great for pre-dinner snacking or to top a sandwich. Yellow squash is delicious, but the brine also works well with cucumbers, zucchini, onions, or mushrooms.

I love kimchi. To me, the world is a better place when we all enjoy kimchi. Fiery and fun, it gives a kick to all food.

If you cut your carrots thin enough, you don't have to cook them to make great quick pickles; just pour hot pickling liquid directly over the carrots and let sit. For more visual punch, use multi-colored carrots.

In search of a classic tuna melt? This is the best we've tried. Palace Diner makes its own pickles, but of course you can start with store-bought.

A mixture of white wine and white wine vinegar, plus a host of spices and vegetables, infuse these shrimp with tangy, fragrant flavor. Serve them as a cocktail party hors d'oeuvre or toss them into a salad.

Mild rice vinegar and a fair amount of sugar yield a less acidic brine and a bright-tasting pickle.

The turnips will taste great after just one week in the pickling liquid, but for that full-on saturated pink hue, let them sit for two full weeks.

These crisp, fresh pickles are often offered along with fresh herbs at the table. Tuck them into a lettuce-leaf wrapper or use them to doctor brothy soup.

"You always want to give the option of adding heat at the table," says Tanis. These shallots deliver acidity and fire in one shot.

This is a lovely crunchy and tangy accompaniment to cold meats and salads. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

It might seem fussy to separate the vegetables when pickling, but if they're combined, the colors will bleed and they won't be as vibrant.

This Mexican-inspired torta is stuffed with turkey, lime, cilantro, and pickled red onion.

Vegan (when made with agave nectar or sugar) This trick will alter and augment your cooking: Pour boiling water over sliced or diced red onions, then transfer them to a solution of vinegar, sweetener, and salt. The onions will brighten into a gaudy shade of purplish-pink and will keep indefinitely, mysteriously retaining their bright color and crisp texture. rather than slice, the onions, if they are headed for one of the cold soups.) You can vary the cut of the onions—and also the amounts of sweet and salt. Use as a dramatically colorful and refreshing tiara atop dinner plates, open-faced sandwiches, salads, cheeses, grilled tofu, or fish—anything savory. I use these often as an ingredient in cold soups and saladitas. (Mince, rather than slice, the onions, if they are headed for one of the cold soups.) • Use a very sharp knife or a food processor with a thin slicing attachment to cut the onions most easily.

These hot and sour pickles are great alongside the spread and frittata , and make a perfect garnish for the Bloody Beers .

Processing your pickles in a hot-water bath rather than a boiling-water bath will give you a firmer texture. It follows that if you want pickles with real snap, don't process them at all. These dill-pickle spears—or sandwich chips, depending on how you slice them—can be processed, if you want, for long-term shelf storage, but first try making a batch to keep in the refrigerator. They will be crisp, and the flavor of raw cucumber comes through. It's the freshest-tasting pickle in this book, and perhaps my favorite. The recipe can be scaled up.

We love using preserved lemons in the BA kitchen, and Philip Krajeck's recipe makes the best we've ever tasted. They take 10 minutes to prep and need only two weeks to cure. Sure, you can buy preserved lemons at specialty stores, but when the end result is this good, we say make your own.

The shape of the crystals varies quite a bit from brand to brand, so measuring kosher salts by weight is the most reliable method. Not ready to invest in a scale? See the box below for volume conversions.