How to Split Your DIY Pickling Brine Kit Into Two Jars

Got a smaller batch of veggies to pickle? No problem. Your DIY Pickling Brine Kit comes in one quart jar with 1½ cups of 5% acetic acid brine — plenty to split into two smaller pint jars so you can pickle two different vegetables (or just make less mess) in one go. Here’s exactly how to do it without watering down your brine.

What You’ll Need

• 1 DIY Pickling Brine Kit (1 quart jar, 1½ cups 5% acetic acid brine + spices)

• 2 clean pint-sized jars with lids

• 2 cups vegetables of your choice (1 cup per jar)

• Water (no more than ½ cup per jar)

How to Split It

Start by giving your original brine jar a good shake so the spices redistribute. Then divide the spices between your two pint jars as evenly as you can eyeball it — don’t stress over getting it perfectly even, the flavor carries over either way and both jars will taste great.

Pack 1 cup of vegetables into each pint jar, then pour ¾ cup of the brine into each one. That uses up your full 1½ cups across the two jars. Top each jar off with water, but here’s the part that matters most: no more than ½ cup of water per jar. Any more than that and you’ll dilute the 5% brine too much to pickle properly.

Seal the jars, give them a gentle shake, and refrigerate. Let the flavor develop for at least 48-72 hours before digging in — that’s the minimum time needed for the pickling to fully take effect.

Veggie Ideas for Your Two Jars

One of the best parts of splitting the kit is getting to pickle two totally different things at once.

Here are some crowd-pleasers to try:

• Cucumbers — the classic. Sliced into spears or coins, they soak up brine fast.

• Red onions — turn bright pink and add a sharp, tangy crunch to sandwiches and tacos.

• Carrots — cut into sticks or coins for a sweet, crisp pickle that holds up well.

• Radishes — thinly sliced, they mellow out and lose some bite while staying crunchy.

• Green beans — pickled whole for a snappy, savory snack (great with a Bloody Mary).

• Cauliflower florets — hearty enough to hold texture, great in a relish tray.

• Jalapeños or banana peppers — for anyone who wants heat with their crunch.

• Bell peppers — sliced into strips, they add color and a mild sweetness.

• Beets — earthy and vibrant, though they’ll tint your brine a deep red (pickle these on their own if you want to keep the color from bleeding into other veggies).

Pairing idea: Try one savory jar (cucumbers or green beans) and one bold jar (jalapeños or red onions) so you’ve got options for snacking, topping, or garnishing. Mixing two vegetables in the same jar works too — just make sure they’re cut to similar sizes so they pickle at the same rate.

Tips & Tricks

• Don’t sweat uneven spices. If one jar looks like it got more of the good stuff, don’t worry — the flavor will still carry over evenly as it pickles.

• Watch your water. The ½ cup max per jar isn’t a suggestion — go over it and you’ll drop below the acidity needed for safe, crisp pickling.

• Mix and match. Splitting the kit is the perfect excuse to pickle two different vegetables side by side and compare notes.

• Patience pays off. Give it a minimum of 48-72 hours in the fridge before tasting — that’s how long it takes for the brine to fully work its magic.

• Get a second use out of it. Your brine is good for two uses — once your first batch of veggies is gone, add fresh ones to the same jar and let it work its magic all over again.