Since I do a lot of canning, I have a lot of mason jars, so I will be using those. But, don't feel you need to use them. Glass or plastic, either container should be fine, so long as it has a lid that can seal tight. I like to wash mine first on a sterilization cycle in my dishwasher to make sure they are good and clean. Keeping them as clean as possible helps to minimize the chances bacteria can grow in the jars.

The most important thing are cucumbers. My family usually gets 1/2 bushel of pickling cucumbers from the market every year. However, any cucumber will do, so long as you cut them down to a manageable size.

You will need the following:

• Distilled water (any water will do, but distilled water makes for a cleaner end product, I will talk about that later)

• Vinegar (I use pickling vinegar, but any vinegar will do for your first batch of pickles as different vinegars will add different flavours)

• Salt (I use pickling salt, which again, makes for a cleaner end product as it has no additives in it)

Here is where you can experiment and do a lot of variation, but for my simplest pickles, I use the following:

• Garlic

• Black peppercorns

• Dill

• A tiny amount of red pepper flakes

There are a limitless number of ingredients and flavours for you to experiment with to create a recipe that works for you, from peppers to onion to a litany of spices. This one is my basic recipe that I have kept returning to over the years.

I start by setting up my jars, and putting the flavouring in each one. One clove of garlic, on sprig of dill, 6 peppercorns, and a tiny amount of red pepper flakes in each jar.

I scrub each cucumber vigorously to get rid of any dirt. Then, when using pickling cucumbers, I cut them into quarters lengthwise. I often also cut off the tops and bottoms so I can pack them in tighter without bending or crushing the ends.

Now pack in the spears as tightly as you can in your jars. You may have to play around a little, taking some out and putting different ones in, to get as many in there as tightly as possible.

I mix the water, vinegar, and salt in a larger mason jar, seal the top, and shake it vigorously. Pickling or kosher salt has no additives (table salt usually has iodine and sometimes even iron added) in it, and using pickling or kosher salt makes for a cleaner end product. You can use regular table salt, but the iodine or iron will react with the vinegar and create a sediment that will settle to the bottom of the jar, or sometimes will just make the brine solution cloudy. The pickles are still more than edible, but they may taste a little funny. A similar process will happen if you use tap water instead of distilled, you may get some cloudiness or sediment but the pickles should still be edible.

Next pour the brine into each jar until you just cover the spears. Seal the jar tight and give it a good shake. If you run out of brine, just mix up some more and continue adding it to the jars. Congratulations! You have just made pickles! Store them in the fridge for two days before you start eating them!

Like I said, this is just about the simplest recipe out there, but feel free to experiment. You can try adding a different combination of flavouring to each jar to help discover your own preferred recipe. Just remember to label each jar with its ingredients so you can duplicate the ones you really like.