(From the recipe collection in Haroun and the Study of Mischief, and a more historical dive into the background of pickles. And also, amusingly, we’re back to February pink food!)
Evidence for vinegared cucumbers dates back about 4,400 years in Mesopotamia, though the word used then probably was neither achaar nor mukhalal nor pickle. (I doubt they were dill gherkins, either.)
Quite a few of the vinegared quick pickle recipes in Treasure Trove and The Sultan’s Feast are so close to my family’s quick pickle recipes that it’s astonishing. The term mukhallal/mukhalal from Kanz is still in use for quick vinegared pickles of various vegetables today, sometimes described as shawarma pickles in English, and sometimes pink from wine vinegar or red onions or beets.
Some historic versions:
Recipe 219 in Newman’s The Sultan’s Feast says:
“Take October cucumbers, especially the small ones, and soak them in salted water for two days and nights. Then, take them out of the salted water and put them in a large glass jar. Pour on wine vinegar, and add the tender ends of celery, mint and rue. Make sure there is more rue than celery in it. Leave for a few days before use.”
(My modern note is that rue has some potential medical concerns, but celery leaves should have similar flavors and are likely easier to find.)
Takhlīl al-Shamār al-Akhḍar, recipe 591 in Nasrallah’s Treasure Trove, is one she converted into modern measurements on her website. Her redaction combines red wine vinegar, sugar, fennel, mint, and rosewater, and if it had been cucumbers instead of fennel it would have been just like home.
Some modern versions:
At Ribbons to Pastas, Vaishali Sabnani describes a mukhalal mixed vinegar pickle variant with three parts water to one part vinegar, without boiling or blanching the vegetables. Because 3:1 would drop the vinegar’s acidity below the preservation percentage needed, you’ll want to eat them fairly quickly and keep them refrigerated.
At Cookpad, Zeen describes mukhalal pickles made by boiling vinegar, water, and sugar with some spices and pouring the hot liquid over the chopped vegetables. Because these have been boiled and include more salt, these may last longer if you don’t eat them first.
My family’s What’s-On-Hand quick pickles:
- One part white, rice, or cider vinegar (or wine vinegar and a beet slice if you like pink) – a cup works for a small unit, but you can scale this up to pints or quarts for a party
- Zero to one parts water depending on how sharp you like the brine (I like 1 part cider vinegar to 1/4 part water myself, or rice vinegar straight.)
- 1/4ish part (a couple tablespoons) of sugar if you like them sweet
- A teaspoon of salt (though if you’d like to keep them longer than a few days, use more)
- Flavors to taste: The fast version was cracked black pepper or lemon pepper, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and mustard seeds. But if the herb garden is thriving, mint and roses might make an appearance. (If I have a daikon, red or green shiso also enters the chat.)
- No-boiling-needed vegetables: Cucumber, mild onions, fennel, turnips, cabbage, and radishes can be cut small enough that they’ll marinade in the refrigerator without a vinegar blanching.
- If you have the ambition to boil the vinegar and spices to pour over the vegetables, you can get into more substantial vegetables like cauliflower and carrots or larger chunks of cabbage.
- How many vegetables? Enough that your vinegar will cover them rather than leaving dry bits sticking out. (That may depend on your container size and shape as well.)
- Refrigerate and eat within a week or so. If you didn’t blanch them, they’ll likely be tastier on day 2-3 than day 1 as the vinegar works on them.
Lynn Strong 
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