Quick 'pickled' cucumber and onion

Last year I made spicy pickled courgettes for the first time ( though slow-pickled rather than quick). They have mustard seeds, mustard powder, chilli flakes and celery seed in, as well as the vinegar and sugar. They were a huge hit with the family and I have since used the same recipe with cucumber instead, and it was just as good.

If anyone wants to try it, it was based loosely on a BBC recipe, though I doubled the quantities of all the spices, left out the onions, and used whatever sort of sugar / vinegar vinegar I had to hand:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/681665/crunchy-courgette-pickle

I've just ran off to have a go at courgettes in vinegar ! I put some fresh mint, sugar and cider vinegar in a bowl then added a long side grated courgette . It tastes wonderful , can't wait for lunch time !

My Granny used to grate carrots and steep them in white vinegar. They were lovely with salad.

We had my version of my mum's pickles with cold chicken and fried potatoes and onions last night. I used cider vinegar and red onions but it needed more sugar than I expected.

It was judged a success by dh and my friend.

My SiL gave me a huge bag of runner beans from his garden. I've no idea how to use them all. I like the pickled cucumber ideas. I've never had cucumber that way. I'll have to try it.

I love these aromatic pickled red onions - great with sliced cold meats or cheese
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/quick-pickled-onions

I’m another who ate this as part of Sunday tea as a child, and so did DH. I still have the shallow pressed glass dish that my mother made it in. Must renew my acquaintance with it! Simple pleasures!

This is really interesting - it must be due to the hot weather - because I was out over the weekend and the salad served with the cold meat was very simple - sliced beef tomatoes, with thinly sliced white onion and cucumber and a very simple "dressing" of malt vinegar and sugar, just like my mother and gran used to make. Nothing else. It was such a treat, refreshing as others have said.

I wonder how many recipes may have been given the heave-ho in favour of unnecessarily more complicated ones - when they were perfectly fine in the first place! And delicious.

Before freezers, my mother used to 'lay down' runner beans in salt in Kilner-type jars.
I never liked them

ah - no runner beans, the sparrows got the flowers first.

Limpke??? How did 'like' turn into that?

They certainly are, Jalima. I found four marrows today that I somehow missed while they were still courgettes. Everything is growing limpke mad at th moment - I think my neighbours have started hiding when they see me heading towards their houses with arms full of courgettes, cucumbers or runner beans

My mother used to make this regularly too; it's something I haven't made for years.

I would use cider vinegar as well.

The courgettes are turning into marrows overnight MamaCaz

Phil Vickery made a lovely looking cucumber relish on TV this morning using frozen cucumbers.

My friend’s mum used to do cucumber and onion every Sunday morning steeped all day in vinegar ready for their tea, always grade A red salmon,
For afters it was always strawberry jelly and Fussells tinned cream.
Those two aromas, strawberry jelly and malt vinegar transport me right back to the early fifties.
Happy memories.

Sorry - should have said "and drained them before adding..."

We had this a lot too with cold meats. Mum used to pour some boiling water over the sliced onions for a few seconds before adding a teaspoon of sugar, sliced peeled cucumber (not too thin) and malt vinegar. I must make some - my taste buds are tingling. I use red onions - the vinegar goes a pretty pink!

I used to make what was called bread & butter pickle, which is basically the same thing.

I am tempted to make some myself now, as i have a glut of cucumbers as well as courgettes!

Thank you for the link. That's more or less what I think mum did.

We had this nearly every Sunday afternoon for tea when I was a child.
It is particularly good with tinned salmon although that was a very rare treat as it was wartime.
No recipe just slice and cover with vinegar, and yes it did have a sprinkle of sugar.

Try googling 'quick pickled cucumber', with or without the word 'onions', and you should find quite a variety of recipes. This is one that I found.

www.blessthismessplease.com/quick-pickled-cucumbers/

I bet it would work just as well with courgettes, too, for anyone with a glut right now.

Being GF I can't have malt vinegar any more so would probably use cider vinegar. I was just interested in any other ideas. I'm on a mission now!!

We had some the same at a friend's house last week. Except she had used white vinegar.
You're right , it's very refreshing.