The Ultimate Secret To Making Crispy Pickles Is In The Beverage Aisle

When it comes to pickles, homemade pickles are hard to beat. Of course, you can toss a jar into your grocery cart, but they're so easy to make at home — and you can control the texture, the flavor, and the cut of these crunchy, tangy cucumbers. However, you probably haven't been utilizing one common ingredient for the crispiest cucumbers: tea leaves. When pickling veggies, tea works alongside ingredients like water and salt to crisp the veggies because it contains something called tannins.

If you pickle with tea, the process stays fairly similar. Most importantly, pre-salting your cucumbers — where you don't need to use any liquids — allows the veggies to lose some of their moisture before they're brined. When it's time to brine, add some loose-leaf tea (as opposed to a usual tea bag) to the jar in order for this to work best. Leave the pickles to brine and absorb the liquid for at least an hour, and the end result is a delicious, crunchy jar of pickles.

Tannins are compounds that are found in tea, and when they're applied to something like vegetables, they counteract the enzymes within the vegetables that turn them soft. The end result is extra crisp. Tannins can be found in a few types of leaves, such as oak and horseradish leaves, but black tea leaves are probably the most common way to get them.

Note that this method differs slightly from a typical pickling process because it requires fewer ingredients, and the cucumbers need to be salted for at least 30 minutes before they're put into the pickling brine. (Choose the right cucumbers for the crunchiest pickles.) You can still flavor the pickle brine however you choose; Add garlic, peppers, or anything that helps the cucumbers build flavor as they sit. Although you can enjoy the pickles after only an hour, it's best to let them marinate for about a day to be able to soak up maximum flavor and turn the cucumbers nice and crunchy. The pickles will last for up to four weeks in the refrigerator, so feel free to make a pretty big batch.