Fermented food is delicious and very healthy, and fermenting vegetables is very simple. You do not believe me? You don’t have to. Just try it and you will be surprised. It really is just a few minutes of work and delicious to eat. As you will notice I do not use any special equipment nor starters. I like to keep things rely simple, the way my family has pickled for generations. For beginners, cucumbers are a good way to start. This is a simple way to ferment them for eating right away as a fresh half-sour pickle. So, let’s get started!
Things you need
As a beginner you don’t need any extra equipment. Just use what you have.
1. A container or a jar. It can be any size or shape just not metal, so it does not oxidize. I prefer Ikea glass jars. For the fermenting process I take the rubber band out and put it back on for storing in the fridge.
2. A down pusher. Anything that holds the cucumbers down under the brine. I use a Tupperware shake insert, it fits well into my jars. A small plate with some weight on it would work too.
- Brine:
- 1 liter (32 oz) of boiled water
- 1.5 tablespoons salt for cucumbers, 1 tablespoon for other vegetables. (I use coarse salt and make the tablespoon heaped - do not use iodine salt!)
- Dill fresh or frozen in cubes
- 1-3 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste
- About a teaspoon of mustard seeds
- 2-3 slices of fresh horseradish root (it makes the cucumbers more firm, mostly I don't have any 🙁 )
- Some black pepper kernels
- 2 english cucumbers sliced - or a pound pickling cucumbers
- Put all the ingredients for the brine into a jar or container and stir well. Let cool down. Cut the cucumbers into inch big pieces and add to the jar so that they are all covered in brine. It will take about two English cucumbers. Little pickles from the garden or farmer's market are even better if available.
- Push the cucumbers down by using whatever fits into your container. In a bucket a plate with some weight on it will do, for a jar I use an egg holder :).
- Put in a warm place for 1-3 days, depending how strong you want them to be. They can be eaten right away.
Fermenting other vegetables
Using the same brine, you can ferment almost any vegetable you can imagine. Add a sliced pepper to the cucumbers, it looks very ornamental and tastes great. Some vegetables need a few days longer to ferment, all depending on your taste. I love carrots and also tomatoes – yummy!
If you want to get more advanced in Lacto-Fermentation:
Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey also wrote a book Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes & Pastes
We invite you to subscribe to NorthernHomestead and follow us on Facebook or Pinterest for more yummy recipes.
This looks really easy, and I can almost taste them now! I may try this over the weekend! Thank you!
Kristen from The Road to Domestication
You welcome! It is easy. Let me know how it goes.
Hmm… I’ve never done this before. Maybe I’ll have to give it a shot. 🙂
Check out my blog post on Sunday, August 4th, for a Sunshiny Surprise for you… You’ve been nominated for The Sunshine Award!
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Oh, thank you Lorelai! Looking forward to see it.
I am so sad. Our cukes did horribly this year– we have only been able to pick one very misformed one. The kids are sad because usually I make jars upon jars of pickles! These look super yummy to me.
Thanks for sharing on A Humble Bumble Healthy Tuesday’s Blog Hop!
Kerry from Country Living On A Hill
That is sad Kerry. I find growing cukes tricky too. Hope you have a better harvest next year.
Thanks for linking up to Let’s Get Real! While I’m not a fan of pickles, I do like some pickled vegetables. Your tutorial is very clear and easy to follow!
Yum they look so good, thanks for sharing the recipe
OMG. Tank you for sharing this with us. I had a friend make pickles and everyone was so impressed. Now I am going to be able to show him up
I keep saying I want to make pickles, but I haven’t done it yet. I really need to just do it. I grew up eating pickles at almost every meal. Maybe I skipped breakfast. LOL! We even eat pickles on our tacos. I really need to be making my own. Thanks for sharing this with our Let’s Get Real Readers. I look forward to your posts and I’m sure our readers do too. I’ll let you know how the pickle making goes.
Do you put the brining spices in ‘just boiled’ water – so it’s hot? Is that to release the flavour of the spices?
Thanks for the recipe, I’m starting it tomorrow 🙂
No, just because it is simpler to do it this way. You can let the water cool down before adding your spices. Hope it works well for you!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Do you think these pickles would be good for use in frying after I’ve made them? I love fried dill pickles and want to make everything homemade.
Question. After a few days can you can and seal half sour pickles to stop the fermenting process and keep them from going to full sours?
I do not think so. For anything to keep longer you need acidity. If you can half sour pickles there might not be enough to be safe. You would need to add vinegar, so the whole pickling would be for nothing.