Fermented cucumbers

To help prevent sogginess, start with cold cucumbers and a 3.5% total salt concentration. The most important thing you can do to keep your fermented pickles crisp is to use at least 3.5% total salt. You can add bay leaves, sencha green tea, and grape leaves for tannins. You can also try adding calcium chloride salt to pickles, which is very effective at keeping things crunchy. (Some sources of calcium chloride are natural from limestone… and some are chemically produced. I suggest researching this salt and deciding if you’d like it in your food). Link for Brine percent calculator https://myfermentedfoods.com/tools/brine-calculator/

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Step 1

This recipe at 1x works best with a 32-ounce wide mouth jar. Please see equipment recommendations above. Please use the right type of cucumber. Recommendations can be found in the first paragraph of the blog post. Please also read the slicing recommendations.

Step 2

Wash all of your fermentation equipment (jar, weight and lid)

Step 3

Wash your cucumbers in cool water.

Step 4

Slice your cucumbers either as ripple cut chips or as spears/halves.

Step 5

Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.

Step 6

Place a mixing bowl on your kitchen scale and tare/zero the scale.

Step 7

Weigh out the designated amount of cucumbers.

Step 8

Add the cucumbers and the designated amount of water to the jar.

Step 9

Place a small bowl on your scale and tare/zero the scale.

Step 10

Weigh out the salt. Then add salt to the jar of cucumber and water.

Step 11

Add in all the spices. (If using dry spices, you can avoid them floating to the surface. Place the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or tea bag and tie it closed. Nestle the little spice pouch at the bottom the the jar, under the cucumbers. By doing this, you will still get all the flavor from the spices, without anything floating.)

Step 12

Place your standard mason jar lid on the jar, and secure. shake the jar vigorously for 2 minutes to dissolve all the salt.

Step 13

Remove the lid. Place your clean fermentation weight in the jar making sure to submerge the cucumber pieces and weight fully in the liquid.

Step 14

Secure the lid to the jar.

Step 15

Let the cucumbers ferment for 14 days at room temperature. Set the jar in a glass dish to catch any spills.

Step 16

If using a regular mason jar lid, you will need to burp the jar daily when it is bubbling.

Step 17

After 2 weeks, remove the fermentation weight and smell and taste test. Your fermented pickles should smell pleasantly sour. They should taste tart, like a smoother version of a vinegar pickle.

Step 18

Don’t forget, as mentioned above, how you slice your cucumber matters. Stick to ripple cuts or spears/halves for the best results.

Step 19

If using dry spices in pickles, you can easily stop the spices from floating at causing issues. Put the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or a tea bag and tightly tie it closed.

Step 20

24 – 72 hours: All contents in the jar should be submerged beneath the brine. At this time, there are still Gram negative bacteria and possible pathogens present.

Step 21

72 hours – 7 days: After 72 hours, you should start to see lots of bubbles. You need to burp the jar if you are using a standard mason jar and lid. Cucumbers in this stage should change color from vibrant green to pale olive. You will also notice the brine become very cloudy. Leuconostoc bacteria begin to thrive and produce a lot of carbon dioxide and acetic acid. Gram negative organisms die off during this time.

Step 22

7 – 12 days: Bubbles in the brine will decrease as the ferment leaves stage two and enters stage three. The mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time period.

Step 23

12 – 14 days: Lactobacillus make up the majority or all of the microbial population. They produce copious amounts of lactic acid, and make the fermented cucumbers smell even more pleasantly sour. This is the time in which the vegetable mixture becomes preserved. At this time, you can smell and taste test.

Step 24

Spice options Whole black peppercorns Mustard seed Coriander seed Dill seed Allspice berries Red chili flakes Bay leaves Star anise Cardamom seeds Celery seeds Cinnamon sticks Dill seeds Whole cloves Dried ginger Fennel seeds Juniper berries

Step 25

Basic pickling spice recipe : 2 tablespoons black peppercorns 2 tablespoons mustard seed 2 tablespoons coriander seed 2 tablespoons dill seed 1 tablespoon allspice berries 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 10-12 dried bay leaves , crumbled

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