How to Store Pickles

How to store pickles? After spending hours preparing the fresh ingredients, washing, cutting and pickling, here comes the most important step. How to store them? Pickles can be stored best in a sterilized container. Most people like to use clear glass jars because they can see the content easily. I learned to sterilize jam jars (jam is technically also a type of pickles) from one of the most unlikely sources: a microwave oven manual.

Here are the steps outlined in the manual. Keep in mind to follow safety guidelines when you use the microwave oven:

Half fill two glass jars with water
Place the jars in the microwave oven side by side
Heat on high power for 2-3 minutes until water boils
Empty and drain the jars upside down on kitchen paper
The jars should be warm when filled with pickles
Screw on the caps tightly, the caps must also be sterilized by pouring hot boiling water on them and left to dry on a rack. Hot water droplets dry quickly because the steam evaporates fast

Pickles can also be made using a microwave oven. There are two good pickles recipes here.

Basically, if you choose to store your pickles in a food grade plastic container, the same principle apply. Sterilize the containers just by pouring hot boiling water on them and their seals. Please note I use the word "pour" and NOT "immerse". The reason is because if the plastic is immersed in hot water with the lid, the lid will become loose and will no longer be air tight or water tight.

I learned how to store pickles mostly by trial and error. Asking those who are experts also does not hurt.

For store-bought pickles, I like to use Tupperware containers. The reason is because, it can withstand higher temperature compared to other food grade containers and also, Tupperware does not emit unpleasant odor always associated with normal plastic containers that contain toxic PVC. Tupperware material is also approved by FDA and other bodies around the world as being food safe and non-carcinogenic. Another plus about Tupperware is that, nowadays there are so many designs and materials to choose from. I, personally, am a big fan of the "clear bowl" series. They look like glass bowls but they are not AND they can withstand temperature up to 130 deg C!

I also like Tupperware's Worldwide Lifetime Warranty. The company has standard product code across the world, if my seal is broken due to normal use, I can get a replacement wherever I am, whether in Penang or New York, FREE of charge. Even if I buy Tupperware online, the same warranty will apply. For how many times may I replace the items? For as long as I have them. Maybe I will pass the containers to my granddaughter over the next twenty years, when she breaks them, she also can get free replacement for those items. Isn't that cool?

So by now I hope you no longer wonder on how to store pickles. It is fairly easy and cheap. Unless you want to learn and buy a canning kit for home use.

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