Stir brine ingredients to dissolve salt as much as possible.

In quart jars or any airtight container that can be used in the fridge, pack fresh whole cucumbers or peeled and sliced cucumbers, adding sliced onion, peppercorns, garlic and hot peppers if used, equally among the jars/containers. Stir brine again and pour over cucumbers to cover, then cover tightly and place in the fridge.

You may also use small zucchini squash in this recipe or in almost any pickling recipe that calls for cucumbers, including relishes, chow chow, piccalilli and my favorite, bread and butter pickles.

For the refrigerator pickles, I’d use equal parts cucumbers and small zucchini if using the squash in this recipe.

According to how many cucumbers you have, you may need more onion and garlic and more brine to cover your cucumbers. These have to stay refrigerated because they’re not processed in a canner for long storage. However, they will keep indefinitely in the fridge, if they last that long. Hope they turn out well for you.