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Is this recipe safe? The author is making pickles without sterilizing the jars first and I've ALWAYS read that you have to sterilize the jars first.

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There's a difference between canning safety for long-term room temperature storage and safety for refrigerator storage. This recipe says to store in the fridge. – Jefromi♦ Dec 11 '11 at 0:47

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The recipe appears to be close to a standard Summer Pickle recipe. It's about a 9% brine with 3.75% acetic acid, which should effectively discourage human pathogens. It is not a fermented product. They're meant to be refrigerated for at most a few months, not stored on some dusty basement shelf. Refrigerated properly, I'd eat them without concern.

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Ah, so the length of time is the concern. – Robert Dec 11 '11 at 4:16
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@Robert: Length of time is always a concern but no, the real concern here is refrigeration, not time. High-acid foods last pretty much forever in the fridge, because both acid and refrigeration are hostile to most bacteria and together they eliminate almost any risk; if you don't refrigerate then the risk goes up considerably. – Aaronut♦ Dec 11 '11 at 16:47

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