What do you do when you’re in a pickle?

We’re entering the season of all things pickled, preserved, and canned, but not everyone has a canning cellar and a stockpile of Ball jars. Luckily, pickling doesn’t have to be a process.

If you’ve got an hour or two until dinner time and your dish needs a spike of acidity, and crunch, you can make a quick pickle out of most anything. We polled our pool of Kitchensurfing chefs for their quick-pickle strategies and recipes. Below, you'll find techniques from our chefs highlighting three different techniques for quick-pickling. Here are our favorite (groan) picks:

Vinegar Quick Pickles by Aubrey Jenkins In this 30-minute pickle, Aubrey briefly salts vegetables to pull out water, then covers them in vinegar and spices.

Photo by Aubrey Jenkins

Wash and peel (if necessary) whatever vegetables you'd like to pickle then cut them down to size: cucumbers, radishes, and beets can be julienned or thinly sliced. Carrots and daikon work best julienned. Shallots or onions should be thinly sliced.

Salt the vegetables generously (like you’re seasoning a steak) and gently toss them in a colander to coat. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes to drain.

Gently squeeze the vegetables to extract any excess water. Tightly pack the vegetables into a jar and cover with a light-colored vinegar. Unseasoned rice wine vinegar gives your vegetables a fresh and crisp flavor without too much acidic punch. White wine or Champagne vinegar are other favorites, and distilled white vinegar gives your vegetables a kosher-pickle taste that may or may not blend well with your meal. Apple cider vinegar gives a distinct apple flavor to the vegetables, but works fine in a pinch. Sweetener is not necessary, but you might prefer a touch of sugar or honey added to the vinegar.

If desired, add fresh herbs, spices, sliced garlic cloves or sliced ginger root for added flavor. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Store leftover pickled vegetables in vinegar for up to a few days.

Quick-Pickled Radishes by Briana Ryan A hot mixture of vinegar, water and seasonings rapidly pickles sliced radishes. Try the same technique with thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers and fennel.

Photo by Briana Ryan

1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

½  teaspoon red pepper flakes

½  teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon honey 

2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Stack the radishes in a quart-size jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add the spices and garlic.

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, honey, and salt. Once the honey has melted, pour the mixture over the radishes.

Close the jar, and briefly shake, allowing ingredients to combine. Let the pickles to cool to room temperature before serving.

Flash-Pickled Jalapeños for Banh Mi Sandwiches by Cristina Sciarra Jalapeño peppers need only minutes in a room-temperature vinegar bath to tame their spiciness.

Photo by Cristina Sciarra

3 jalapeño peppers

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

De-stem the jalapeños and thinly slice crosswise, then discard most of the seeds (depending on your heat preference).

In a pint-size jar or container, combine the sugar, salt, and vinegars. Seal the jar and shake until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Add the jalapeño slices, and shake again. Let the jalapeños sit anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour.