. Hmmm... Pod, I will be interested in your fermented fruit and kefir projects.
Oh good, so glad to see others are doing fermentation or would like to! It really is addictive... once you are successful
Things you will need for making your homeade fermented sour pickles - Per quart of pickles:
Pickling cucumbers
Quart mason jar
1 1/3 C boiled water
2 T + 2 t Kosher salt
2 Garlic cloves, peeled
1 or 2 grape leaves or horseradish leaves (optional)
Hot pepper, poked with the tip of your knife
1 t mustard seeds (I use hot Chinese mustard seed)
1 t dill seed and/or fresh dill sprigs if you have them!
About 5 to 10 black peppercorns
About fermenting pickles:
Since it's pretty much impossible to find real old fashioned fermented pickles anymore, I decided to try making my own. It hasn't been without failures and disappointments trying to get some good crunchy pickles. This year has been very successful so I think I may have found just the right ratio of salt and water as well as growing some really good pickling cucumbers, aka 'cukes'. The process of brining your cucumbers creates a good bacteria, 'Lactobacilli'. Some people use whey to speed up the lacto process. I haven't tried it. I don't can my fermented pickles, because the heat will destroy the lactobacilli which is very good for you. Think yogurt. So, if you go crazy making these yummy pickles, have plenty of room in the frig.
Salt brine fermentation is really easy and it's just that, salt mixed in water and poured over the cukes.
First, I think it's important to have good crunchy pickling cukes, ones that actually have 'pickling' as part of the name. For this particular recipe, you will also need some clean quart sized mason jars with lids.
Pick your cucumbers or get some fresh as possible at the farmers market. Clean them well but don't go crazy and scratch them up, and remove the stem or blossoms from the ends. Then soak your pickles in a bowl of ice cubes and water for about an hour or so. I don't know if it's really making a difference but it's supposed to crisp the cukes up.
Make sure you use clean mason jars, prepare just like you would for canning. If you have some grape leaves or horseradish leaves, place in the bottom of your jar. They are supposed to help keep your pickles crisp. I have grape leaves growing wild here, so I use those. Add your garlic, hot pepper and spices. Now stuff the cucumbers in the jar as tight as possible. Add the dill spriggs in with the cukes if you have some, placing some on the outside so you can see them through the jar. It just looks pretty.
I've got it pretty close here and found that after stuffing the cukes in the jar, it takes about 1 & 1/3 cups of brine to fill the jar.
Brine ratio per quart jar is:
1 & 1/3 cup filtered water
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (Sorry, the measurement will be a little different/less if you use pickling salt. Sorry about this but I use Kosher salt which has larger grains). I know this seems like a lot, but after trying various amounts, this one is really making the best pickles I've made! More salt will slow down the process which I think is why the pickles are so perfectly crunchy with this amount of salt. I've tried with less salt in the past, and think it may have been part of the reason I was getting mushy, undesireable pickles. Heat the water to a boil, remove and add the salt, stir until all the salt is melted.
Pour the hot brine mixture over the jar of pickles. When it's still warm, it seems to help speed things up in the jar. The jar should be full to about an inch below the top. If it's not full, add some clean filtered water to fill the jar to that inch mark.
You can either put your lids on now, or if you want to use a small (sandwich size) ziplock baggy, with enough water and a pinch of salt (in case it breaks) to cover the top of your jar. If you have your cukes stuffed in the jar good enough, you don't have to worry about them floating above the water line. Put the date on the jar so you will know when you put them up and place them in a dark pantry or cupboard and wait. You can check on them after a few days, just to make sure everything is going okay and give them a taste if you want, as they sour. They should be ready in about 10 to 14 days.
sorry for any typing errors, I will go back and check my spelling now.
