Fermented Pickles
In an effort to get more probiotic and fermented foods into my family’s diet, I have tried some new ferments that are more kid and husband friendly. I actually like these better than store-bought fermented pickles, but they are an acquired taste. I flavor them similarly to my refrigerator pickles. My first batch was with garden fresh cucumbers and they stayed crisp so I’m looking forward to trying this again with various cucumbers.
I don’t have a garden this year, but I can find the snack size organic pickles at Whole Foods and they work great. I typically use 4 cucumbers to fill the jar.
This recipe is ever changing. My last batch had a strong ferment flavor so this is still a work in progress, but this is a good place to start. I have yet to find a recipe that works better than this one.
I rarely have problems with mold since I bought the Easy Fermenter Starter Kit with airlock lids, glass weights, and a pump. They fit on wide mouth Ball jars. Here is link. My glass weights look a little different, but this is the same brand that I have had for many years.
Fermented Pickles
Ingredients
- 4 organic snack size pickles or pickling cucumbers or enough to fill a quart jar
- 1 cup plus more filtered water
- 2 tablespoons course Celtic sea salt
- 2 oak leaves (optional because I can’t always find these and the pickles still turn out)
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dill seed
- 1-2 heads garlic, left whole, optional
- quart size ball jar with airtight lid or airlock lid and glass place holder
Directions
Wash cucumbers and trim ends for crispness and so they will fit in a quart size jar. You can slice them any way you like, but I find they stay the most crisp when left whole for the first few days, and then I slice them in bite size rounds. Slicing longways will work, but I find they get a little soggy. Also, if you slice them at the beginning, whether in rounds or longways, your pickles will ferment much quicker so check them after 2 days (See more details below on what to check for and how they should taste.) Otherwise, keep them whole except the ends and follow the rest of the directions!
Place sliced cucumbers in a clean quart sized ball jar.
Pour 1 cup water in a large glass measuring glass with a spout.
Add dill seed, mustard seed, garlic, salt, and oak leaves to the measuring glass. Mix until combined well.
Pour salt mixture over cucumbers into ball jar, leaving a little over an inch headspace. Add filtered water if needed.
If using an airlock lid and glass place holder, place the glass on top of the cucumbers to hold them down under the liquid. If you don’t have a glass holder, use a ziplock bag filled with water to hold cucumbers down. Put the airlock lid on, ensuring you still have about an inch of headspace in the jar.
Let sit at room temperature with little to no sunlight for 3-7 days. If using an airlock lid, the gas should escape so you won’t have to open the jar to burp. If using an airtight lid, open the jar about once per day so the gas can escape. I have much better turn out with a glass weight and an airlock lid.
They should be done in about 3-5 days. After 3 days (or 2 days if pre-sliced), check for taste. They should be bubbly by day 3. If they are too salty, keep fermenting and check for flavor each day. After 3 days, I cut mine into 1/4-1/2 inch slices to speed up the process, but they stay crisp. I like 1/4-1/2 inch slices because it’s a good bite size that I can add on the side of a meal or snack. If using them for sandwiches or burgers, I just slice them appropriately when I take them out of the refrigerator to serve.
They are done when the salt taste isn’t too strong and the flavor has a bit of tang, and of course, when you can see bubbles. Last time, in my summer kitchen, which maintains a temperature in the mid 70’s, it took 5 days.
Once the taste is right, remove the glass place holder and the airlock lid and put an airtight lid on the jar.
Store in refrigerator and enjoy!