Fermented Pickle Recipe Old-fashioned Saltwater Brine Pickles
Ingredients
Brine for fermenting
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 4 cups water
- cucumbers to fill wide mouth 1/2 gallon jar
- 2 heads dill
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic or more
Instructions
- Clean 1/2 gallon (or 2 wide-mouth quart jars) Mason jar.
- Make your brine, use 2 Tablespoons of salt to 1 quart of water (4 cups). Stir salt into water until it's dissolved.
- Pack your vegetables into the clean container leaving a 2 inch head space (space between top of jar and the top of the food). Just like any pickle making, the freshness and quality of ingredients going in determines the end product. As fresh as possible is best.
- Fill the jar with the brine a 1 inch head space. Place a weight into the jar to keep the food beneath the brine surface. This is very important, if it rises above, it may mold.
- Place a lid on the jar, preferably a fermenting lid below, the goal is to keep the oxygen out and make it air tight.
- Put the jar in warm area (70 degrees Farenheit is ideal but down to 65 degrees Farenheit is also fine) out of direct sunlight and not next to any appliances. Ferment for 4 days.
- After a day or two you'll notice the presence of bubbles and the water will turn cloudy. These are joyous signs!
- Check the taste of your pickles after a few days. If they're not "tangy" enough, let them continue to ferment. It sometimes takes up to 10 days if the room is cold.
- Take off the fermenting lid and replace with a two piece metal canning lid and band. They will keep for months in the fridge, but they're not shelf stable for the pantry.
- When they're done fermenting, they must be moved to the fridge or a similar cold area.
Notes
- you can add 1 fresh grape leaf to the bottom of the jar for a crispier pickle
- make sure you remove both ends of the pickles
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