Homemade Fermented Pickles II: This Time It's Personal

Foodies,

Remember those homemade pickles I posted about before? Well I finally got through the entire two large glass crocks and two small jars and went through severe pickle withdrawal symptoms. In desperation, I even bought a standard jar of Strub’s fermented pickles from the supermarket since I figured that winter is probably not the best time to make pickles.

Then two throughts came to mind. First, f**k it. I’ll just do it. Worse comes to worse, I have to send $20 of veggies to the organic recycling. Second, I decided I wanted more than just plain old cucumbers. I wanted a pickle smorgasbord. So off to work I went.

I picked up a slew of vegetables this time to use this time. As you can see by the photos, this time I used fresh mini-cucumbers, celery stalks, cauliflower, a slew of garlic (unlike last time when it was just a few cloves), mini carrots (There is no such thing as a “baby carrot,” they’re actually large carrots shaped and cut by a die cutter. Hence, mini-carrots. Sorry, pet peeve of mine.), radishes, portobello mushroom slices and bok choy. I also thought about adding in kale and whole spring onions or peeled shallots or pearl onions to the mix but there wasn’t enough room in the jars.

Added to the crocks each were an entire bunch of fresh dill which you can’t see because I stuffed them in the middle and the vegetables are surrounding it, though you can see a green stalk sticking out in each one. If you remember from my last photo set, once fermentation sets in the dill will actually separate and flow all over the jar. I also added in 3 TBSP of pickling spices to each crock which you can see at the bottom. Lastly, I split open and added in 3 Thai chili peppers to each glass crock.

For the brine, this time I made a couple of alterations. First, I increased the ratio of salt to water from 1/2 cup of pickling salt to a full cup. I heated the salt in a pot with 4 cups of spring water (two was not enough as the solution will be supersaturated and the salt won’t dissolve) and then added in more water until I had a gallon’s worth of brine. I am hoping this eliminates the need for me to keep adding a tablespoon of salt each day as I had to do for the last batch. I still believe I will have to add more salt for flavor eventually but let’s see how things turn out first.

The second alteration I made was a cheat. Remember that jar of storebought pickles? Well that brine is already loaded with beneficial bacteria and calcium chloride to keep the pickles crisp. Why let it go to waste then? So I added this as well to the brine. The thinking behind it was that it would function like a sourdough starter. Let’s hope that I’m right.

I will keep updating this thread with pics as we follow the development of the pickle smorgasbord. Here’s the first batch:

Then there are no such thing as “mini carrots,” just normal carrots cut into smaller pieces.

Curious to see how they come out. I’d be a little worried that doubling the salt might inhibit fermentation. (I’ve had some early batches of sauerkraut that never fermented because I added too much salt).

Let us know what happens!

Here is the mid-week update. So the pickle crocks were set out to ferment on Sunday night. We’re now on Wednesday night and here’s the current state of evolution:

As you can see, there is now a touch of cloudiness to the brine. This has taken 3 whole days to even begin to show, whereas the cucumber only pickles showed cloudiness immediately on the next day. It took long enough, in fact, to make me wonder if I had actually done something wrong like put in too much salt as Rachel was worried about above.

Fortunately, this has now been put to rest. Aside from the cloudiness, another tell-tale sign is that the vegetables have begun to move around in the brine. This happened with the cukes only version as well and I presume that the cause of this is the gases released during fermentation stirring things around.

Another positive sign: the signature milky white “scum” film that is a lacto-fermentation by-product has begun to form at the top of the crocks.

So we are well on our way here… with the caveat that I expect this to take much longer than the cukes only version. I can see why commercial pickle makers only sell cucumber pickles – really fast turnover! That said, I’d think they’d make a killing in profit if they fermented different veggies as I’m doing. Will have another update this weekend.

They pickle things other than cucumbers. They call it Giardiniera. We use it in olive salad which we use on our Muffaletta sandwiches.

Thanks for the note. Giardiniera is what I would normally think of as a refrigerator pack pickle. It’s using vinegar which is essentially already fermented to provide the acidity and preservation. I’ve made plenty of those as well though I admit I now have a preference for the lactofermented kind myself. Interestingly, red peppers are not a vegetable I had thought of for this batch. I will include it for next time.

Okay, time for an update. we’re now five days in and you’ll notice quite a number of changes. After the last update, I skimmed all that white scum off and dumped it in the sink. The brine is now showing cloudiness, though not the milky white cloudiness one would expect if only cucumbers were used.

The vegetables have now jostled around the crocks and become all floaty, being held down only by the plate and glass container above them putting weight on them. You can now see the previously unseen dill weed which has no moved and separated and floated around. You can also see the cauliflower now. Spices are starting to float all the way up to the top.

The veggies are starting to change color and become darker. The radishes, bok choy, carrots, celery and cucumbers have bled out quite a bit of their color. The garlic and cucumber are still pristine white. The mushrooms also have not changed color.

You’ll also notice that the celery has gone from rigid straight to bendy, implying they have softened from the lacto fermentation. The mushrooms, which I was most worried about, have held on to their shape well. I think next time I am going to try whole button ones instead of the large portobello slices.

I also tasted the brine itself to see where it’s at and to see if anything is funky or off. I’m happy to report that it tastes fresh, salty… and sour. Success! Lacto fermentation has been definitely achieved. Furthermore, the doubling of salt to 1 cup up from 1/2 has resulted in a perfect taste balance and I will definitely not need to be adding any more salt as was done previously. More importantly, it didn’t inhibit the fermentation as Rachel feared it might. Here’s an after picture that you can compare to the before picture above:

Good to know about the salt levels. When I first starting doing pickles I had issues with oversalting and not getting a good ferment but I now I use as little as I can get away with. Curious about the mushrooms because I’ve never tried to ferment those. Most of what I do is sauerkraut and it’s a bit different because you add salt to the cut up cabbage and pull the liquid from the cabbage as opposed to adding brine. So you have a lot less liquid so you have to watch how much salt you use.

Also, if you’re not doing it already, I’d recommend you make your own pickling spice so you can alter it to your own taste. I’ve gotten some pickling spice blends in the bulk section of supermarkets that were awful so now I make my own.

I agree that’s there’s a vast difference between vinegar pickles and real lacto fermented ones. I still do some vinegar ones on occasion (like Mexican escabeche to have on the side with tacos) but fermented ones are so much better. As you point out, it’s not hard. You just need to plan a week or so ahead of when you want them. More people should make their own.

Oops. I reread my original post and realized it was misleading. I made it sound like my brine was 1 cup salt to 4 cups of water when I was actually making reference to my first time out using 1/2 cup of salt to a GALLON (16 cups) of water. I meant that I dissolved the 1 cup of salt in 4 cups of water and then added in the rest of the water to come up with a total of 1 gallon of brine. This was divided equally in half for both crocks for a total of 8 cups of brine in each. The original post has been corrected now.

OK, that makes more sense. I did think you meant 1 cup of salt to 4 cups of water and I was a bit surprised (but happy) that it fermented. Thanks for the update

I would like some of these pickles, is there any way to get a jar? Can’t get good pickles these days, I’ve tried all the gourmet selections from high-end grocery stores, in desperation. What would you have to have in trade?

Nick, they’re easy to do at home. You should try it. Fermentation times are 1-2 weeks depending how much salt, how cool it is, etc. I do small batches in canning jars using weights and air locks from Fermentn.com (http://www.fermentn.com). The weighs are ceramic and fit inside quart canning jars and keeps the food under the brine. The airlock lets out CO2 from fermentation and doesn’t let oxygen in. The weights are dishwasher safe too so you can sterilize them that way.

Normal caveats: no affiliation with them except as a customer.

Hi Nick, +1 to Rachael’s comment. Very easy to do. Equipment required is minimal. When I get home from the Foid and Wine Market show tonight I will be happy to post explicit how to directions.

Tran, just want to comment that I really dig the enthusiasm that you always bring to your posts about food and wine. It’s refreshing in the best way possible.

Hope you’re well.

Thank you Tran and Rachel, I’m going to give it a go.

Corey, thanks for the note. Much appreciated.

Nick, here’s everything you need properly laid out in a single post. I’m going to assume you’re doing large quantities like I did but if not simply divide the ratio down by an even number. For example, 16 cups to 8 cups or 4 cups depending on how much you want to make in your first batch:

LACTOFERMENTED PICKLES

HARDWARE:

• 2 one Gallon (16 cup) sized NON-REACTIVE containers (stainless steel, glass, wood, food grade plastic, etc.)
• Non-reactive saucer plates or covers to weigh pickles down
• Non-reactive weights to weight pickles down (pie pan balls, heavy glasses or bowls, etc.)
• Large pot for making brine (at least 1 gallon in size)

SOFTWARE:

• 1 cup non-iodized salt (essentially any salt other than plain table salt)

• 16 cups bottled or filtered water (do not use tap water!)

• 1 gallon of crisp pickling veggies of your choice (the firmer the better; cukes, peppers, celery, cabbage, onions, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, snow peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, beets, radishes, etc.)

• 6 TBSP pickling spice mix (homemade or store bought)

• 1 whole bunch fresh dill

• First, wash and dry all the hardware properly if it isn’t already so. If you haven’t used them in a while or just bought them, wash them anyway a just to be safe.

• In each gallon size crock, put in 3 TBSP of pickling spices first. Then place half the vegetables (8 cups worth in volume) in each crock. Divide the vegetables evenly. Stuff half the dill weed in each one. Use up the space as efficiently as you can. Make sure there is some air space at the top of the crocks, you don’t want them overstuffed to the top when they are dry unless you like having a large mess on your hands as the fermenting days go by. You also need to make sure the veggies are fully submerged in brine which can’t happen if they already reach the top of your containers.

• Dissolve the cup of salt in 4 cups of the spring or filtered water over medium heat. Don’t boil, you just want to dissolve the salt is all. BTW, you can play around with the flavor of the pickles by changing the salt. I’ve used pink himalayan salt and grey sea salt before and it adds great flavor. Then dilute it with the rest of the water all at once which will cool down the brine. Yes, you will need a big pot for this.

• Pour the brine over the vegetables until they are completely submerged and then some. That means the brine level must be over and above the vegetables themselves. You don’t want your veggies seeing air at any point in this process.

• Weigh down the veggies with your covers and weights. This will at first look unnecessary as the fresh veggies just sit at the bottom of your containers but as times goes on you’ll see exactly why you needed these.

• Store the crocks in a cool dry dark place for 5 - 7 days. The ideal temperature is 55-70 degrees – the same temp required for fermenting and storing wine, not too coincidentally.

• Check each day to see how things are going. Make sure to skim away any white scum that forms at the top. Not bad for you, but gives unpleasant taste to the pickles. If your veggies were properly weighed down and submerged, it will be much easier to get at this scum and remove it.

• When your curiousity gets the better of you – and it will – check how things are going by tasting the BRINE, not the pickles themselves for the first few days. At first it will just taste like salt water. As time goes on, it will taste salty and sour indicating success at lactofermentation. If it tastes putrid instead of sour, something is wrong and you will have to toss everything. Unless you like ingesting botulism or e.coli.

• On or about the 5th day, you can start breaking the seal and tasting the veggies. By then, everything will be all floaty so make sure to weigh everything down properly again and ensure there is no air exposure to the veggies. When they are sour enough for your liking, feel free to move everything into proper jars or containers and into the fridge.

• If you notice the brine level is low due to evaporation, feel free to top it up with fresh spring or filtered water. More salt is not necessary. If you notice the brine is overflowing, simply remove it with a spoon without breaking the seal.

Good luck and enjoy!

Thank your Tran Bronstein. I’ve just printed out the instructions, never done this sort of thing, but my wife says it’s pretty straightforward. Thank you for all that effort. What do you drink in the way of wine?

I am a sweet wine fanatic but have recently branched out my palate into dry still wines including Burgundy Pinot Noirs, Rhone Chateauneuf du Papes both red and white, Spanish Riojas, Amarones and California Cabernets. For the pickles specifically I would drink a dry white wine.