Quick mushroom fridge pickle recipe, with foraged ringless honey mushrooms. Vegan, gluten-free, paleo,

Sour. Salty. Spicy. Dilly, and garlicky.

Is your mouth watering yet?
These are some of my favorite flavors, and they are loaded into these fast and easy wild mushroom fridge pickles.

What are fridge pickles? Basically, they are a veggie or mushroom soaked in vinegar and spices, in your fridge, till the food soaks up all the flavor (over about 48 hours) and becomes an excellent snack or condiment. Fridge pickles must be refrigerated (they aren't shelf-stable), as they are neither canned nor fermented, nor are they salty enough to salt-cure, and they keep for about 2-3 weeks. Because there is no canning involved, they come together quickly.

I made these will ringless honey mushrooms, Armillaria tabescens, (learn how to ID them here) but you can use other wild mushrooms, or even store-bought. The smaller the mushroom the better, as they will soak up the flavor faster!


This is also the spice blend I used, but feel free to experiment with what you like best. If you like a sweet pickle, add a little sugar, honey or agave, and use a blend of white and cider vinegar. If you don't like a spicy one, omit the red pepper flakes. If you like it more spicy, add some slices of jalapeño or Serrano peppers.  It's really all up to you!

Refrigerator mushroom dill pickles

Makes 1 quart jar. Recipe can be scaled up or down. 

4 cups of previously boiled ringless honey mushrooms
3 cups white vinegar
5 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp granulated garlic (optional)
heat-safe glass or ceramic containers

1. Make sure you are working with mushrooms that have been fully boiled for 10 minutes. This will make your pickles safer to eat (in terms of wild mushrooms) and last longer in the fridge. 
2. Add your mushrooms to a glass or ceramic container. Only use glass or ceramic for pickling, as plastic and metal can interact with vinegar, and leach into your food.
3. Bring the vinegar to a boil on the stove
4. Roughly chop your garlic, and slam your peppercorns and coriander with the flat of a knife, to help release some flavor. If you want, feel free to go all-out and grind in a mortar and pestle, but it's really unnecessary to go that far. 
5. Add all your spices and salt to the vinegar, and boil for about 3 minutes. 
6. Pour your spicy vinegar over the mushrooms and fill to the brim. Gently tap the container against the counter, to release air bubbles. Add additional vinegar to fill if needed. 
7. Cover and refrigerate immediately. Pickles are good to eat in 48 hours or so, but if you leave them longer, they get better. Consume everything within 3 weeks. 

So next time you wondering what to do with all these edible, tasty honey mushrooms, consider this recipe, and whip up a batch of fridge pickles. You won't be disappointed!

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