My mother served Cucumbers and Onions frequently while I was growing up. When I asked her for the recipe, she reminded me that she doesn’t use a recipe. She told me – equal parts sugar and salt; equal parts vinegar and water. That’s great, but it’s the ratios, the proportions, that make the difference!

I don’t think the type of cucumbers matters much. I don’t make this Cucumbers and Onion dish in the summer with garden cucumbers, although I’m sure that’s what my mother used. I prefer to make this salad in the winter when we’re craving the crunch and freshness of the garden. English or Persian cucumbers work equally well here, but I love the appearance of the smaller Persian cucumber coins. My mother’s salad in miniature, with few seeds.

I don’t even think the type of dill matters – dried or fresh is good. If I’m using dried, I add it before marinating the salad. If I’m using fresh, I add it at the end. I don’t believe that my mother used dill at all, but I do think it adds a summery note.

The type of vinegar does matter. My mother used distilled white vinegar, which is why she needed to cut the acidity with water. I guessed that there would be no need for the water if I used rice wine vinegar, because it’s much less acidic than distilled white vinegar. There are other vinegars that are milder as well – apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar, for example. But they muddy the color of the brine, which doesn’t seem right to me. And I find that the rice vinegar is just too mild for this dish.

So I’m back to where I started, but I do think I’ve nailed the brine proportions of salt and sugar (equal parts, 1 1/2 t each), to the water and vinegar (equal parts, 1/2 cup each). Proving that mother does know best!