I remember when pickles were either something that you bought from a barrel on the street or — if you were crafty — canned in your kitchen. But somehow they’ve become the emblem of all things hipster-artisanal-twee, as much a joke (we can pickle that!) as they are a food.

The reason so many of us have outsourced our pickle making to the waxed-mustache set is that canning is sufficiently daunting; the thought of boiling jars, with its mysterious science and prospect of imminent disaster, is enough to send most home cooks running to the store. Fortunately, canning is not a prerequisite for pickling. In fact, as long as you can commit to eating them within a week or two, there are countless pickles that you can make quickly and store in your fridge.

All the recipes here fall into that category. Some — relishes and marinated vegetables — use heat to soften the pickles and impart the flavor of the brine, while others — miso-smothered and saltwater-soaked — rely on time to do the work. The various brines pull double duty, preserving whatever you’re pickling while at the same time introducing new flavors and coaxing out inherent ones. Think of the recipes as templates: Swap in different vegetables as you like.

My favorite pickles are a bit more subtle than the vinegar-smacked versions that taste more like acid than like vegetables. Of the four categories here, the two that use vinegar do so mostly for balance, cutting through the sugar in the relishes and the oil in the marinated vegetables. The others are less tangy and more salty, using saltwater brine, which is classic, and miso, which is both surprising and delicious.

All these methods require minimal effort and limited active time, making it easy enough to finally reclaim pickles as the humble, homespun food that they are. The trendiness is incidental.