How to Make Crisp Lacto Fermented Pickles
Learn the secret ingredient to CRISP Lacto Fermented Pickles. These pickles will not be mushy! They’ll be rich in probiotics for good gut health, as well as tasty, but most importantly, your fermented pickles will have a great crunch when you bite into them!
Keep Your Pickles Crisp with Tannins
Do you find that old-fashioned, homemade lacto-fermented foods, including pickles, can be mushy? Well, they won’t be anymore! You just need to add tannins to keep your naturally fermented pickles crisp.
And what contains tannins? Grape leaves! Unfortunately, for most of us, grape leaves are not easy to come by. But don’t worry! I have a solution in my recipe video. Use a simple ingredient that comes right out of your spice cabinet. And if you don’t have this simple ingredient on hand, no problem. I have an alternative ingredient that pretty much every kitchen has in their cabinet or pantry!
More Ideas for Fermenting
Once you’ve tried Lacto Fermented Pickles, you’ll definitely want to try your hand at making other fermented foods, including more fermented veggies. So be sure to check out these other fermenting videos below:
If you ever wonder why your fermentation tastes salty, check out my video where I answer this question and other fermentation questions from my viewers below:
You can also make these probiotic-rich fermented beverages, including some tasty good-for-you sodas.
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I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
Love,Mary ♥
How to Make Crisp Lacto-Fermented Pickles
Equipment
- 1 quart-sized jar
- 1 Four ounce glass jelly canning jar or glass fermentation weight
- 1 screw on lid or 1 canning ring and 1 pickle pipe
Ingredients
- 4 Pickling cucumbers, quartered lengthwise into spears
- 1 tablespoon Pickling spices Or any combination of spices that you like.
- 1 bunch Fresh dill, optional Or any combination of herbs that you like.
- 1 Tannin-rich ingredient, such as a tea bag or bay leaf. See video.
- 2 tablespoons Coarse-ground sea salt Or 1 tablespoon fine-ground sea salt.
- Chlorine-free water Enough to cover cucumbers.
Instructions
- Place pickling spices into bottom of a quart-sized jar.
- Place a tea bag, if using, into the bottom of the jar.
- Add cucumber spears to the jar, packing tightly.
- Insert a bay leaf (or leaves), if using, down the side of the jar to be parallel with the cucumber spears. (See video.)
- Mix salt with a small amount of water and pour into the jar.
- Pour additional water into the jar to make sure that cucumbers are completely covered.
- Place jelly jar or glass fermentation weight on top of cucumbers.
- Place lid or pickle pipe and canning ring on jar. Tighten lid or canning ring.
- Place jar in a warm place that averages between 72 – 78°F.
- If using only a lid on the jar, release the lid daily and retighten. This will release some of the carbon dioxide gas that is produced by the fermentation process and prevent your jar from breaking. (Using a pickle pipe will help you skip needing to release the lid daily.)
- After a few days, check the texture of the cucumbers. If they are to your liking, you can remove the weight and put a lid on the jar and refrigerate your cucumbers. If they have not reached a satisfactory texture, continue to allow them to ferment. By 7 days, remove the weight, put a lid on the jar, and refrigerate your cucumbers.
- Please note, after 7 days of fermentation, the cucumbers, which are now lacto-fermented pickles, will taste salty. Over the next few weeks during refrigeration, the pickles will absorb more of the brine increasing their flavor and the brine will become less salty.
- Lacto-fermented pickles will stay fresh, refrigerated, for approximately 6 months.
Video
Notes
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Fermentation Supplies
Favorite Masontops Supplies
- Masontops Complete Fermentation Kit
- Silicone Pickle Pipes
- Fermentation Glass Weights
- Wooden Pickle Packer
Use promo code MARYSNST for a one-time 15% off Masontops and Breadsmart products on Amazon.com.
Recommended Reading
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