In the 10 years that I have been writing this column, I’ve learned that readers are eager to hear some things, while other matters are best left unmentioned.

For example, a recent column about overly enthusiastic restaurant wait staffs brought an unprecedented response from readers. Mostly, these were middle-aged and senior readers who joined me in a curmudgeonly longing for the day when a server could simply take an order and bring the food, without fanfare and bonding. For that week, my audience and I were one.

At the other end of the spectrum was a column I wrote four or five years ago in which I described canning as an endeavor made almost unbearable by heat and fatigue. In that instance, I made the supreme error of being dismissive of an activity that many people still regard as a labor of love. One reader even wrote that she was raising her canning tongs against me in protest.

While this spirited input gave me a deeper appreciation of other people’s motives for canning, I remain unpersuaded that I should ever join them again. Of course, I cheerfully defend their right to sweat over a vat of boiling water in July, if this brings them pleasure. I also am the grateful recipient of other people’s canning and jelly-making, even though I can’t reciprocate.

And whenever I see a Ball jar full of pickles or green beans, I am humbly reminded of my smackdown by the canning anti-defamation league.

So with this history, it should come as no surprise that I was perhaps more intrigued than the average person by a recipe I found in “The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook” for pickled vegetables that don’t require a hot water bath. Of course, they only keep a few weeks, but they’re easy to replenish.

The combination of ginger, jalapeno, cilantro and vinegar gives these veggies a real zing.

Ginger Pickled Vegetables

1 pound vegetables (choose 1 or a combination): whole baby carrots or larger carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds; small icicle radishes or larger radishes, cut into 1/4-inch rounds; small pickling cucumbers or English cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch rounds or 3- to 4-inch spears

1/2 small yellow onion, cut into slivers

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

2 to 4 slices (1/16 inch thick) jalapeno chile

Combine the vegetable(s) of choice, the onion, garlic and salt in a bowl; toss well to distribute the salt. Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours but not longer than 6 hours. Rinse thoroughly, then drain and dry.

Combine the ginger, vinegar, sugar, cilantro and jalapeno slices (use just 2 slices for a mild mix). Add to the vegetables and toss to mix. Place in a nonaluminum bowl or heavy-duty self-sealing plastic bag. Let marinate for 8 hours at room temperature, tossing once or twice.

Store in refrigerator. These pickles will keep (and continue to improve in flavor) for up to 3 weeks.