We have finished off the last of our fermented garden vegetables, and I need to restock our refrigerator. But it isn’t growing season yet, so I need to make a few ferments to tide us over until we can grow our own vegetables again. We’ve also finished off the last of our pickles, which I am missing. So today I am combining the two and making a few jars of fermented pickles. You can use this method to ferment just about any vegetable that you would think of pickling.
Why I Ferment Vegetables
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, this is just what I believe and what I do. Use your own best judgement and do your own research.
I choose to make and eat fermented vegetables because I believe that they are beneficial to my health. They contain healthy probiotics, and fermenting helps to break down some of the anti-nutrients, or toxins that plants contain, making them more bio-available. This makes it easier for us to absorb the nutrients contained within vegetables. It is also a way to preserve the vegetables I grow. There are numerous books, websites, and videos on the reasons why fermented foods are good for you. I encourage you to go and do research for yourself on this topic. Also, I like the way they taste!
What You’ll Need
- A quart sized Mason jar, or two
- Mineral Salt (I use Himalayan)
- Cucumbers, usually of the pickling variety
- Bay Leaves
- Dill
- Garlic Cloves
- Whole Black Peppercorns
- Whole Coriander Seeds
- Filtered Water to fill the jars
- Lids and Rings for the mason jars
- Sandwich bags
- Knife
Heads Up!
Just like canning, your jars need to be sanitized. There are several ways to accomplish this. I have two methods that I like to use: boiling my jars for a few minutes, and then dipping my lids and rings briefly, or using my dishwasher to sanitize everything. Running your lids through the dishwasher does ruin them for canning purposes, but since I am not wanting to seal the jars, I don’t worry about it. I prefer using my dishwasher, it is simpler with less worry about burning myself with boiling water. I do not use a rinse aid in my dishwasher, instead I use white vinegar. If you use rinse aid, and choose to sanitize in your dishwasher, I recommend either turning off the rinse aid option, or waiting until you run out. The agents in rinse aid stick to your dishes and could negatively impact your ferment.
Make sure you have a clean work space, and that your utensils are also clean. Look over your cucumbers for soft spots or blemishes, and give them a good rinse. Make sure to only use fresh, good looking vegetables. Make sure you hands are clean as well! Set out everything ahead of time, as this project is going to go quickly!
First Step
Trim the blossom end off of the cucumber. I also like to trim down the stem, but that one is optional.
Second Step
Now you need to how you want your pickles to be cut, or left whole if you prefer. This time I chose to cut my cucumbers in half, since they are small. The goal is to be able to really pack a jar in tight with cucumbers when the time comes, but it isn’t totally necessary, as we will discuss later.
Once you have all your cucumbers ready, move on to step 3.
Step Three
Time to add our dry ingredients to our jars before we pack in our cucumbers. I suggest starting with one quart sized jar. That way you don’t waste ingredients if your cucumbers all fit into one.
For One quart sized mason jar you will need:
- 1 tablespoon mineral salt, like Himalayan salt
- 2-3 Bay leaves, dried or fresh
- 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
- 3-4 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, peeled, sliced if you like or left whole
- 1 teaspoon of Whole Black Peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons Dried Dill, or fresh if you can
Place all of your dried ingredients and garlic in the bottom of the jar.
Step Four
Time to add the cucumbers to the jar. I like to lay the jar down on its side and start stacking my cucumbers in. Like this:
Once you can’t pack any more cucumbers in, or you have run out of cucumbers move on to step 5.
Step Five
Now it’s time to add the filtered water to your jar. Pour until your cucumbers are completely covered, or to the ‘shoulders’ of the jar, near the top.
If your cucumbers are staying put and not floating free, great! Put on a lid and a ring and tighten. Give you jar a good shake to get the salt dissolved and the seasonings mixed. If your cucumbers are floating, or broke free after shaking, not to worry! There is a solution for that! Take a sandwich bag, pour in a little filtered water, and seal it , trying to squeeze out excess air. Then take that bag and push it into your jar until your cucumbers are submerged. A little of the water may spill out of the top of the jar while doing this, so you may want to do it over a towel, or something to catch the spill, like your sink or a bowl. Now you can add your lid and ring, tighten and give it a shake to mix everything up.
Step Six
Place your jars in a safe place, out of direct light and away from heat sources. Check on them daily to look for signs of fermentation. Usually you will begin to see bubbling. Also inspect your jars for mold. Open them up and give them a smell, they should smell a little salty, and ferment-y, but never rancid or rotten. The amount of time you leave your pickles to ferment is up to you, but a good minimum time is three days. By that point you should have some good fermentation going on, but the flavor will be mild. I recommend starting with three days if you are trying out fermentation for the first time. I like to go for at least a week, but not everyone in my house is a fan of the strong fermented flavor.
Once the three days have passed, remove the sandwich bags if you used them. Tighten the lid back down and place in your refrigerator. Your fermented pickles are ready to enjoy!
Final Thoughts
- Lacto-fermentation is an easy, affordable, and delicious way to add probiotics to your diet. It also increases the bio-availability of whatever you ferment, meaning better nutrition for you.
- You can easily replace the cucumbers with other vegetables, such as carrots, summer squash, or green beans.
- Change up the seasonings to make it more to your liking. Some of my favorite additions are hot pepper flakes, or ginger root.
- The key factor in fermenting is in the salt and water ratio: one tablespoon of salt per one quart of water. The other flavorings can be changed as needed. This applies to any ferment.
- The bay leaf serves not only as a nice flavor for your pickles, but also help in keeping them crisp. You can substitute grape leaves if available.
- The pickles should keep in the refrigerator for several months. I have not had any go bad for as long as a year in the refrigerator. Always inspect them for mold or off smells or colors. When in doubt, throw it out!
I’d love to know if you tried making your own fermented vegetables! Leave a comment down below with how it went, or any questions you have for me! And if you like what I’m doing, consider subscribing. I just put out my first subscriber only DIY on how to save money making your own delicious bacon!