Ingredients:
Fresh cucumbers
Dill
Salt
Water
Optional Ingredients:
Garlic
Coriander
Peppercorns
Bay Leaves
Cloves
- Find a suitable container for your pickles. I used a bean crock to make mine, but you could use a glass jar or other food-safe container.
- Determine how much brine solution (salt-water) you’ll need to cover your cucumbers in the jar. It’s best to have extra, so you can replenish brine if needed.
- Make brine solution; I used a ratio of 1 tbsp. salt per cup water (which seems too salty to me). I used pink sea salt. To fill my crock, I made 12 cups of brine.
- Warm brine up to room temperature on stove to help salt dissolve. Optional.
- Add all the optional ingredients or others you like to the brine.
- Pack whole or cut cucumbers into jar with the dill. Pour brine solution over top and tap to remove air bubbles.
- Make sure cucumbers are submerged under brine. I used a bowl for this.
- Place jar in another bowl to catch overflowing brine and keep in the dark in a cool part of the house.
- Check daily to make sure brine is still covering cucumbers; add more brine as needed.
- Ferment for a week or longer, depending on your taste preferences. Store in the fridge under brine. Should keep for months.
Inspired by: How to Make Naturally Fermented Pickles.
End Result: After two days I had to add a little more brine. Mold was growing around the crock lid after five days. At one week, I decided they were ready and wiped the mold off from around the lid. They smelled and looked normal, but they are on the salty side. I would use much less salt, if I made them again.
Dill and cucumbers in the bean crock
Ready to ferment
Bowl hold cucumbers under brine
Mold after 5 days
After one week fermenting
A pickle
Transferred to jars to refrigerate
Today’s Share:
- Leeks
- Red Chantenay and Dragon Carrot
- Squash (zucchini, yellow crookneck, pattypan)
- Cucumber (National Pickling, Marketmore, Suyo Long, Lemon)
- Bell Pepper
- Jalapeno
- Basil
- Cherry tomatoes
- Adirondack Red and Desiree Potatoes
- Sunflower
Ahswanee Farm 
Your cucs look awesome, I bet they taste heavenly, too. Regarding salt, I use 1 tablespoon per liter of water and it’s enough. Fun fact – in Poland (where I come from) three-days dill pickles are considered a special treat and are sold for a ridiculously high price by weight. If they are not sold within two days, they are sold cheaply as ‘normal’ fermented cucumbers (also by weight, of course). Indeed, they are the best on the third-fourth day from the start of fementation. Or maybe it’s just my sentiment. BTW, are you sure what grew on top was mold, not Kahm yeast? The latter are (is?) totally harmless and grow extremally often on fermented cucumbers.
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Hi Anna! Thanks, they look better than they taste in my opinion. When I make them again I’ll try using the ratio of salt:water you used, because mine were too salty. I will have to try them after three days too. 🙂 I think what was growing around the lid was mold because it looked white and fuzzy, but there could have been yeast there too. Thanks for reading and happy fermenting 🙂
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It it’s white and smell sour, not rotten, it’s probably kahm yeast. It grows on 80% of homemade fermented cucumbers made in summer. I know people who prefer cucs covered in it, believe it or not. I made my last batch in September and the brine stayed clear. So, I think it’s about the temperature.
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