Fermented Or Brined Pickles Recipes

FERMENTED OR BRINED PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers carefully. Use only freshly harvested, slightly immature pickling variety.
• Weigh cucumbers.
• Dissolve salt in water to make brine.
• Put in a clean pickling container and cover with brine. (Cucumbers may be added during the first day or two of curing process if enough brine is added to cover them and if salt is added in definite amounts to maintain a 10% brine.
• Weight cucumbers under brine.
• Store in a cool dark place.
• Next day, add 1 cup salt for each 5 pounds of cucumbers. This is necessary to maintain a 10% brine solution. Salt must be added on top of plate or clean cloth (and not directly on the cucumbers) for even distribution throughout the brine.
• Remove scum when it forms on top of brine. The scum will destroy the acidity of the brine and result in spoilage of the product, if left on.
• At the end of the week, and for 4 or 5 succeeding weeks, add 1/4 cup salt for each 5 pounds of cucumbers. Add in the same manner as step 6.
• Fermentation resulting in bubble formation should continue about 4 weeks. Test for bubbles by tapping container on the side with your hand. As a second test, cut a cucumber in half; if it is the same color throughout and has no noticeable rings or white spots, fermentation is complete.
• Cucumbers may be kept in this 10% brine solution--no additional salt is added after they are cured--until made into pickles. The best temperature for brining cucumbers is about 70 to 75.

FERMENTED KOSHER-STYLE DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Pour 1/2 gallon of water into a large container or pot. Cover loosely and allow to sit for 24 hour to allow dissolved chlorine to escape.
• Crisp cucumbers by storing in the refrigerator or soaking in very cold water for 1 hour.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add salt and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
• Wash cucumbers in cold water and remove any blossoms that may be clinging to them. Quarter large cucumbers lengthwise. Cut medium cucumbers in half lengthwise. Leave gherkin-sized cucumbers whole.
• Peel and gently crush garlic cloves, but don't splinter them into fragments.
• Pour cooled salt water into a 1/2-gallon Mason jar. Add cucumbers, garlic, dill, and dried chile peppers, arranged attractively. Pack cucumbers tightly; they will shrink as they pickle. Fill the jar with the dechlorinated water until cucumbers are just covered to avoid overly diluting the brine.
• Loosely cover the jar and set aside at room temperature. Set the jar on a dish if it is very full, to catch any dribbles. Give the pickles 12 to 24 hours to begin fermenting. Refrigerate them, in brine and loosely covered, as they approach the stage of pickling you prefer: new, half-sour, or sour. Don't overshoot the mark, as refrigeration slows, but does not stop, fermentation.