Updated October 2026

Pickling in New Zealand: Vinegar, Brine and Safe Jars

Pickled onions, beetroot, gherkins and green tomato pickle are New Zealand staples. Here is how to make them keep safely.

Pickles are safe because they are acidic, so two things matter most: the strength of the vinegar and sticking to a tested recipe's proportions. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code lets vinegar be sold at 4% acetic acid, while tested pickle recipes are written for 5%, so check the bottle. With 4% vinegar, Australia's CSIRO advises using 1.25 times the recipe's vinegar, never extra water. Jars that live in the pantry need a tested recipe and a boiling water bath. Fridge pickles are more forgiving.

Brine calculator for fridge pickles

Put in the volume of your jar in millilitres. You get a simple 1:1 vinegar and water brine for pickles kept in the fridge.

Fridge, pantry or fermented?

Fridge pickles need no processing and are ready in a day or two. Keep them cold and eat them within a few weeks.

Pantry pickles come from a tested recipe and are processed in boiling water. USDA examples, with 5% vinegar, at sea level to 300 m:

• Dilled beans: equal volumes of vinegar and water with pickling salt, 5 minutes for jars up to 473 ml.
• Quick dill gherkins: 10 minutes for jars up to 473 ml, 15 minutes up to 946 ml.
• Pickled beetroot: 30 minutes for either jar size.

Each recipe has its own brine. The gherkin brine is weaker in vinegar than the bean brine, and that is fine because it was tested that way. Swapping brines between recipes, or topping up with water, is how pickles become unsafe. For a gentler flavour add sugar, not water.

Fermented pickles sour in salt brine over weeks. USDA ferments dill cucumbers at 21 to 24°C for 3 to 4 weeks, or 13 to 18°C for 5 to 6 weeks. A New Zealand kitchen in late summer usually sits in the first range; an unheated kitchen in a Dunedin or Invercargill autumn may drop below it and take longer. Keep the cucumbers well under the brine, skim scum several times a week, and discard any batch that goes soft, slimy or smells bad.

The right salt

Pickling salt or plain non-iodised salt gives a clear brine. Iodised salt is safe but the anti-caking agent makes the brine cloudy. Flaky sea salt is not a reliable measure. Do not cut the salt in a ferment; it is part of what keeps the wrong bacteria out.

Keeping them crisp

• Brine cucumbers within a day of picking.
• Slice a thin piece (1.5 mm) off the blossom end.
• Skip alum; USDA says it is unnecessary. If you use pickling lime, rinse and resoak the cucumbers in fresh water for an hour three times to remove the excess.
• Use only the processing time the recipe gives.

Green tomatoes and the autumn glut

When cold nights arrive in April and May, green tomatoes left on the vine are a classic New Zealand pickle and chutney. USDA has tested green tomato pickles, so use a tested recipe rather than a family one with no processing time. Our cucumber guide covers the summer crop.

How long pickles keep

Fridge pickles: a few weeks. Processed and sealed pantry pickles: about a year, in a cool dark cupboard. Fermented pickles: 4 to 6 months in the fridge with regular skimming. New Zealand Food Safety's rule for any preserve applies: throw out a jar that is bulging, damaged or looks spoiled.

Sources we checked (October 2026): Food Standards Code Standard 2.10.1 Vinegar and related products (Australia New Zealand); CSIRO, Preservation of vegetables and herbs in oil; New Zealand Food Safety (MPI), Clostridium botulinum or botulism; USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015) through the National Center for Home Food Preservation: General Information on Pickling, Salts Used in Pickling, Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles, Dilled Beans, Pickled Beets, Dill Pickles (fermented), Kosher Style Dill Green Tomato Pickles.

Common questions