For some reason I was in the mood for pickles recently. So, I bought a few extra vegetables while ingredient shopping for a few recipes, and made a little medley of pickled vegetables. These types of pickles are a great antipasto, and can also be used in a salad or to garnish an entrée.

One thing that’s great about pickles is that, within reason, they don’t go bad, so it’s easy to always have a jar of them on hand in the fridge, next to the olives and salted anchovies.

I made these pickles by the Swedish ratio, as I wanted a sweeter pickle. The Swedes use 1 part vinegar to 2 parts sugar to 3 parts water – that’s a fair amount of sugar. Italian pickles are a lot less sweet, and more vinegary. I like both types, the sweeter one and the more acidic one, and they both have their place.