Lacto fermented pickles

[Tiber_Brew]

Come and get one. They are in the fridge at the cottage at the lake. I think it'll be great munching on one while drinking an IPA from the kegerator and cruising around on the lake.

That sounds great! I'll look into some dates and let you know.

 

[Yooper]

That sounds great! I'll look into some dates and let you know.

We ate the pickles this weekend- but I'm making more! Let us know when you guys can make it and we'll work it out!

 

[richbrew99]

Here's my try at fermented pickles. Used a 5% brine, garlic, dill, pepper flakes, pickle spice. I'm addicted to these now. Nice sour and dill flavor. 2 half gallon and a quart jar. Gonna make some fried pickles this weekend.

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[jgourd]

Subscribed. Need to make some more!

 

[Resonator]

Here's my try at fermented pickles. Used a 5% brine, garlic, dill, pepper flakes, pickle spice. I'm addicted to these now. Nice sour and dill flavor. 2 half gallon and a quart jar. Gonna make some fried pickles this weekend.

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Dill pickles start

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Fried pickles.

Roll in buttermilk
Roll in cornmeal
Roll back in buttermilk
Roll again in cornmeal

Fry in Wessen vegetable oil (or peanut oil) at medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until golden brown

You can add a pinch of salt to the cornmeal as well if your pickles aren't super salty

In case you want a bomb recipe

 

[richbrew99]

In case you want a bomb recipe

Yep, saw that. Thank you, I will try it!

 

[brew703]

Wanted to give this a try. Small batch- 2 pint size jars.

 

[brew703]

This is 7 days in. Is this how the pickles are supposed to look?
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[Resonator]

This is 7 days in. Is this how the pickles are supposed to look?
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The skin color looks right, but the middles look dark and possibly soggy. When you cut cucumbers into pieces the insides turn soggy easier -- especially if they're not in the fridge from the beginning.
From my experience, if you're making lacto fermented pickles, you want to leave them whole until they finish fermenting. Then cut them into whatever shape/size you want and add some of the brine you used to ferment them in.

Taste one, if it's the right sourness and tastes the way you want, you can stick them in the fridge.

 

[ericbw]

This is 7 days in. Is this how the pickles are supposed to look?
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Taste and report. They could be soft. Or awesome.

 

[Resonator]

So I decided it was time to make some more pickles. Went to whole foods to grab some fresh dill and garlic, so I could use up the cucumbers I got a couple of days ago.

Here's my process and recipe. (Winged the recipe, since I forgot to write it down last time I made them.)

What you'll need:
- 1 gallon glass container or pickle crock
- 1 gallon ziplock bag or crock weights
- 1 gallon distilled water.
- Diamond kosher salt (6 Tbsp)
- 9 to 12 large pickling cucumbers, or enough to fill your jar so the cucumbers can't float up.
- Fresh dill (2-4 sprigs)
- Fresh garlic (2-4 cloves)
- Whole black peppercorns (1 tsp)
- Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
- Dill seeds (1 tsp)
- Whole coriander (1/2 tsp)
- Ancho chilies (2-6 peppers)
- All-Spice berries (2-4 whole berries)
- Bay leaves (1-3 leaves)

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I like to start off by mixing my brine. I use (3) quart size mason jars, and fill them each with 3 cups of distilled water, and 2 Tbsp of diamond kosher salt. Put a lid on them and shake to dissolve the salt.

Next you want to wash and scrub any dirt off of your cucumbers with a bristle brush.
** This should be a scrubbing brush that is only used on vegetables **

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Next remove the last 1/8" or so, from both ends of the cucumbers.

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After the ends are removed I add the spices to the jar. For the garlic I cut off the dark ends, and then flatten them under a chef knife.

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What I added to the jar:
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp Whole black peppercorns
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Dill seeds
2 Bay leaves (crushed)
3 Dill sprigs
3 All-spice berries
4 Cloves of crushed garlic
4 Ancho chiles (3 w/ seeds, 1 w/o seeds)

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Side note: If you're going to use ancho chilies with seeds, try to use unbroken peppers and twist the stem off at the very top. I found that this helps to prevent hot spots on parts of pickles where they were on the seeds, and it gives a more even spiciness to the pickles.

Put the jar on its side and start stacking your pickles into the jar.

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Once it's full, -- but not completely packed -- add about a cup or so of brine. Twist the jar back and forth in your hands fast enough, so that the spices get mixed up and don't all end up under the ends of the pickles. ( I usually do this again after they've been sitting for a few days and have shrunken.)

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Fill the jar with the last one or two cucumbers, so they are snug against one another and don't move. This may take some rearranging, or possibly cutting of a cucumber.

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Add more brine until it covers the tops of the cucumbers. Then place your ziplock bag in the jar on top of the brine. Fill the ziplock bag with the remaining brine to weigh down the cucumbers, and to make sure if the bag leaks it won't water down the brine.

** If you have brine left over, save it for when you want to move them in the fridge. I usually take the bag out and throw it away, along with the brine inside. Then use the left over brine in the jars or make more. I feel like sometimes the bag can add a plastic flavor to the brine inside, so I'd rather just make fresh brine than impart any off flavors. **

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Place in a cool dark place. I usually use a styrofoam cooler. It keeps temps pretty constant, and shields it from light or bugs.

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Then just let it sit and do its thing. Wild lactobacillus in the environment should take hold in the brine after a couple of days. As long as the cucumbers are under the brine, and your salt levels are high enough -- you should have no problems.

After about a week or so, the brine should have turned cloudy and the cucumber's skin should have changed colors from a saturated green, to a more muted pickle green.

How sour your pickles are, will determine on how long you let them sit on the counter before moving them into the fridge.

I'll post back in a week or so with the results.

 

[brew703]

Not really worried about the softness. More concerned about the other parts. Next time will leave whole.

 

[Resonator]

Not really worried about the softness. More concerned about the other parts. Next time will leave whole.

What other parts? The taste? The appearance of brine or skin?

I would be concerned if a pickle is soft. That's always meant something has gone wrong in my experience. Usually it's caused by something in the water (why I use distilled), or not enough salt in the brine.

I usually test mine by trying to snap one in half, and if everything went well, it should break with a audible snap.

 

[brew703]

What other parts? The taste? The appearance of brine or skin?

I would be concerned if a pickle is soft. That's always meant something has gone wrong in my experience. Usually it's caused by something in the water (why I use distilled), or not enough salt in the brine.

I usually test mine by trying to snap one in half, and if everything went well, it should break with a audible snap.

i'll give that a try.

 

[Resonator]

i'll give that a try.

How did they taste?

 

[brew703]

How did they taste?

Like **** LOL. Dumped them. They were soft. Will try again, only this time will leave whole and just cut the ends and will use spring water.

 

[Resonator]

Like **** LOL. Dumped them. They were soft. Will try again, only this time will leave whole and just cut the ends and will use spring water.

Haha, I've definitely been there. It took me a bit to get my pickles down. I was cutting them into spears at first and they would almost always end up horrible, other than when I added way more salt than normal one time.

I've found that leaving them whole for fermentation and appropriate salt, is the most effective way to get a good crunchy deli style kosher pickle that I really like.

The best way to make sure they are crunchy is to use salt equal to 2-5% of the total cucumbers weight. If you make a brine according to someone else's recipe where they give you measurement amounts to water, it won't always work out.

It all depends on your container volume, how much cucumbers fill that volume, and how much brine you can add. When you measure by cucumber weight you ensure that's there's enough salt no matter how much brine you can add to the rest of the jar.

If you still can't get them to turn crispy after adjusting the salt and leaving them whole, consider adding tannin containing leaves like grape leaves. Bay leaves do help with crunch slightly, but also impart flavor -- so only use a couple per gallon. Or you could always add calcium chloride if you want to go the unnatural route.

 

[brew703]

Haha, I've definitely been there. It took me a bit to get my pickles down. I was cutting them into spears at first and they would almost always end up horrible, other than when I added way more salt than normal one time.

I've found that leaving them whole for fermentation and appropriate salt, is the most effective way to get a good crunchy deli style kosher pickle that I really like.

The best way to make sure they are crunchy is to use salt equal to 2-5% of the total cucumbers weight. If you make a brine according to someone else's recipe where they give you measurement amounts to water, it won't always work out.

It all depends on your container volume, how much cucumbers fill that volume, and how much brine you can add. When you measure by cucumber weight you ensure that's there's enough salt no matter how much brine you can add to the rest of the jar.

If you still can't get them to turn crispy after adjusting the salt and leaving them whole, consider adding tannin containing leaves like grape leaves. Bay leaves do help with crunch slightly, but also impart flavor -- so only use a couple per gallon. Or you could always add calcium chloride if you want to go the unnatural route.

Thanks for the info. I may try again next weekend. It's like anything else.. learn from mistakes.
As for the recipe, I did use one on the net and the salt content was xx per quart of water. I tasted the brine and it was salty so figured all was good. Next time ill follow your recommendation.

I also used a bay leave as that's what i had. I dont have access to grape leaves but could add calcium chloride as i do have that.

 

[Resonator]

Thanks for the info. I may try again next weekend. It's like anything else.. learn from mistakes.

As for the recipe, I did use one on the net and the salt content was xx per quart of water. I tasted the brine and it was salty so figured all was good. Next time ill follow your recommendation.



I also used a bay leave as that's what i had. I dont have access to grape leaves but could add calcium chloride as i do have that.

For sure, it's definitely about experimenting and learning from mistakes.

If you live near any farmers market that's a great place to look for grape leaves

Good luck on the next batch!

 

[Resonator]

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Pickles in progress. Still need more time to sour.

 

[theDREWery]

If you still can't get them to turn crispy after adjusting the salt and leaving them whole, consider adding tannin containing leaves like grape leaves. Bay leaves do help with crunch slightly, but also impart flavor -- so only use a couple per gallon. Or you could always add calcium chloride if you want to go the unnatural route.

If the tannin in grape leaves and bay leaves is what helps, what about black tea? Would the tannin used in winemaking help?

 

[burninator]

If the tannin in grape leaves and bay leaves is what helps, what about black tea? Would the tannin used in winemaking help?

Lots of people use tea leaves. Oak and cherry leaves are also high in tannins.

 

[Resonator]

lots of people use tea leaves. Oak and cherry leaves are also high in tannins.

^ +1

 

[thunderwagn]

Lacto fermented Diakon radish. I add different ingredients at times, but for the most part, I like mine "plain" :fro:

 

[Shooter]

After the two batches of sauerkraut and the crock of pickles, I think kimchee is next on the list for me. Plus, the wife loves kimchee.

 

[Resonator]

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Tasted a spoonful of brine, and still not sour enough for me. Bubbling nicely though.

 

[richbrew99]

In case you want a bomb recipe

Tried the cornmeal recipe, amazing!! Tried spears and chips? We liked the chips best.

 

[Resonator]

Tried the cornmeal recipe, amazing!! Tried spears and chips? We liked the chips best.

Glad you liked it! Pretty simple, but really good.

 

[Resonator]

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Ready for the fridge after a week on the counter. Nice half sour kosher dills. Could have used a little more salt possibly. Definitely will taste better cold haha

 

[ericbw]

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Ready for the fridge after a week on the counter. Nice half sour kosher dills. Could have used a little more salt possibly. Definitely will taste better cold haha

Is it crunchy?