How to Make Dill Pickles with Lacto-Fermentation

Peter Young shows how to make fermented dill pickes at home, in a Harsch crock, and in a quart-size mason jar.

It's easier than you might think.

Here's the Quart jar recipe:

1 lb. pickling cukes
1 large garlic clove
1 or 2 dill heads (or 1 tsp. dill seed)
1 Tablespoon salt (non-iodized---kosher, pickling or sea salt)
water to fill jar (non-chlorinated)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• dill pickles
• fermented pickles
• lacto-fermentation
• Dr. Sauerkraut
• Harsch crock
• Peter Young
• live food

[ONSITEAUTOBODY]

Great video ! This is about the best video about pickling on youtube , but the only thing i wished he talked a little bit more was about

The skimming , the only reason i don't make pickles like these because I'm afraid i might poison my self lol

[jpeteryoung]

@ONSITEAUTOBODY There's no skimming required with the two methods I describe, and I don't know of anyone ever getting sick from a lacto-fermented pickle, but I am not a doctor for food scientist.

[charliepossenriede]

Also what happens when they "Cure" in the fridge?

[jpeteryoung]

@charliepossenriede The bacterial conversion of sugar in the fresh cuke into lactic acid in the final pickle, is a gradual one. It happens faster at 70* than 60*

When you put the jars in the fridge or root cellar to cure, you are slowing down the conversion of the remaining sugar in the jar which will probably be complete in 8 weeks or so, depending on temperature. This would be a full-sour.

[charliepossenriede]

Ok ive tried to ferment pickles.. i think twice maybe 3 times. The first batch i made too salty. The second batch, i dont remember the measurements i used. I let it ferment for around 6 days and when i tried a pickle it was "hollow" like gassy and kind of spongy and it had a really rotten after-taste. It was about 76 degrees in my house and it got some sunlight so that might have heated it. Did i just ferment it for too long? Will a half-sour pickle turn fully sour in the fridge?

[jpeteryoung]

@charliepossenriede Sometimes the cukes are hollow before you pickle them; I'm thinking that was your problem there. Yes, 76* for 6 days is probably a little too warm for a little too long, but not way way off.

I can't meaningfully diagnose your problem from the info. you have provided here. Try following the recipe in the video and let me know how it works. Good luck!

[charliepossenriede]

@jpeteryoung Thanks, i will definitly try it when i get a chance. Oh and one thing i forgot to mention, instead of using the jars you have i had a larger one about twice as large and i didn't have a lid so i put paper towel over the top with a rubber band to secure it, could this be a problem because it let bacteria in or maybe too much oxygen?

[ONSITEAUTOBODY]

Sweet! In that case i cant wait to make some , thanks :)

[jpeteryoung]

@Follydogdog I don't quite know how to answer this. Where did I say acidic water works best?

I never measure the acidity of my water, but I have used only Vermont well or spring water for over 30 years, which is known for being "hard", which means basic, which means above pH 7.

Ideal ppm salt in the water would I think be 1.5%, or 15,000 ppm NA. Never thought of it that way though.

[jpeteryoung]

@ConcernedMushroom My rule of thumb is, yes, if it smells and tastes ok, it's ok, and even if it doesn't, it probably still won't make you sick or dead.