Fermented Dill Pickles

Fermented Dill Pickles

Fermented Dill Pickles

Ingredients

• Fresh dill, enough to cover the bottom
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 9 pickling cucumbers (enough to fill the jar)
• ½ cup sauerkraut juice
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 2 cups of water

Instructions

1. Use a 1.5 L glass jar and place dill and garlic on the bottom.
2. Cut the blossom end off of each pickle.
3. Place the pickles in the jar.
4. Pour the sauerkraut juice in the jar.
5. Mix sea salt into 2 cups of water and dissolve. Pour into the jar.
6. Screw the lid onto the jar and place the jar in an area away from direct sunlight. I usually put my jars in a cupboard. Make sure you put the jar in a room that is warm (not the basement, things don't ferment in a cold room).
7. Wait at least 3 days. Each day unscrew the lid and push any pickles that have popped up down or use a glass fermentation weight keep the pickles down. It is important that the pickles stay under the brine so they don't grow mold. You can tell if your pickles are fermenting when you see bubbles around the top of the surface of the brine.
8. Books I have read said it is common for a little mold to grow. If mold grows scoop it out and continue to let it ferment. If the mold becomes something more than a little mold then discard the pickles. *I had a little mold grow on my last pickle when I stored it in the fridge weeks later.
9. Taste test the pickles after 3 days. When you have reached you desired crunchiness and flavour place the jar in the fridge. Refrigerating the pickles will halt the fermentation process.
10. *Options – You can place grape leaves in the jar to help retain the crispness of the cucumbers. The tannins in the leaves is what keeps the pickles crunchy. I have not experimented with this yet but it is on my to do list.

Notes

*Keep the pickles whole. When I experimented by cutting the cucumbers into spears to ferment they went all mushy.