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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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.
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Love your cooking shows.
Hi Johnnie! Thank you SO much for the kind words!! If you enjoy making Traditional Foods, be sure to head over to my YouTube channel’s home page where I share lots of playlists of videos that I think you will enjoy. Here is the link: https://YouTube.com/MarysNest Plus, I have a playlist of some of my videos titled “Mastering the Basics of Traditional Nutrient Dense Foods Cooking”. It’s a series of 15 detailed videos that covers How to Make Bone Broth, Cultured Dairy, Ferments, Sourdough Starter (my foolproof stater), Sourdough Bread, Soaked and Sprouted Nuts and Beans, and How to Soak and Sprout Grains to Make your own Sprouted Flour at Home. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3b4eu0QraZReKlGzA11h3y And please share the playlist with any other folks you think might be interested in learning about these types of things. I’m passionate about the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (of the Weston A Price Foundation) and want to help as many people as I can learn how to make Traditional “Nutrient Dense” Foods.
And for more details on some of these subjects mentioned above…(and more), be sure to check out these detailed playlists:
➡️How to Make Bone Broth: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U0JFsTi2N7sHSpU-vBR04CH
➡️How to Make Fermented Vegetables: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U2EhVspEV5d4Xs2s4pcbHbr
➡️How to Make Fermented Condiments: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U0hCKYoMMBeVD-9bA6TckEj
➡️The Complete Guide to Sourdough: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3NKN0GHvGCpiWNxcTefLof
➡️The Complete NO KNEAD BREAD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U0ZnA45FadK99NvKZLKh-6N
➡️How to Make Bread with or without Yeast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U344nspo8zPj3O3LfyNVHZS
➡️And if you are interested in learning about how to make various types of Homemade Dairy including Cultured Butter, Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream, Ricotta Cheese, and more, be sure check out this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U2R7u0Ri26HwdLMjUa4iJJX

➡️Also…If you enjoy making homemade pantry type items, you might enjoy my playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U1MqC3YAw7ZRYjuL9FBGSwc where I show how to make Apple Cider Vinegar (see more info about this below), 10 Flavored Extracts including Vanilla Extract, 10 Seasoning Blends including Ranch Dressing Mix and Onion Soup Mix, 1- Minute Homemade Mayonnaise, Homemade Bouillon – and how to dehydrate it, Natural Food Colorings, Evaporated Milk, Condensed Milk, Preserved Citrus, Breadcrumbs, Croutons, and more!
And if you like the idea of making your own Apple Cider Vinegar as mentioned above…Be sure to check out the Apple Cider Vinegar Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U1QPA95O2-oOvxwtO-v3L4L which a 3-part series where I walk you through the entire 30-day process. And if you like making vinegar, I also have a Homemade Citrus Vinegar Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3apQRTzhfQBkR_x0rb514U And I have one more vinegar video where I show how to make vinegar from Strawberry Scraps. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U2M3dRA483q5KJ7JkJfn3fS
➡️And…Have you seen my playlist for making immune boosting foods and natural remedies including a Super Mineral Detox Broth? You can look through the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U0p9nRAWldbyqYSbgwzARGd You may like some of these recipes.
➡️And if you are interested in how to make probiotic rich fermented drinks, here is my playlist of some fun drinks including How to Make Homemade Sodas, Mocktails, Drinking Vinegar, Homemade Energy Drinks, Switchel, Shrubs, and More: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U2w2-CiBrkNnZj_IIlqZc9h You may enjoy these videos. And if you are interested in learning how to make Kombucha and/or Water Kefir, I have a playlist which includes a Beginners Guide to Kombucha Making along with a video on making water kefir for beginners…which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3YysV0OYOMsxsJuf_sxPTK
➡️And in the Modern Pioneering spirit…If you enjoy canning, or are interested in learning about canning, I have a playlist of my canning videos here which include step-by-step tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3HJRCmwVAvBNS90WjifR1U
➡️Oh…And here is my 2020 Channel Update for everything I have planned for this year: https://youtu.be/qjOJh8Cb_-k
Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m so happy to help! And also, let me know what other types of traditional food videos you would like to see me make. I’m SO glad you’re here!! Love and God Bless, Mary
PS – Are you in our FB group? It’s called Mary’s Nest Modern Pioneers. The direct link can be found in the description under this video. Come join us! We have a lot of fun chatting about Traditional “Nutrient Dense Foods and it’s a great place to get questions answered.
Hi Mary. Can sweet pickles be made with this lactofermentation method?
Hi Mary! For some reason, my pickles were bitter after 7 days, so, not knowing what else to do, I poured out the liquid, thoroughly rinsed off the pickles, put them back in the cleaned jar, added more salt and fresh water,and let it set for three days. Although they are very salty, they are no longer bitter.