Fermented Dill Pickles
These tart, salty pickles are an easy and delicious way to preserve your cucumbers.
Equipment
- digital scale
- quart-sized jar
- fermentation weight
- fermentation lid optional - see notes
Ingredients
- 430 g dechlorinated water
- 430 g pickling cucumbers
- 30 g pickling salt
- 4 large cloves of garlic chopped
- 3 sprigs of fresh dill foliage and flowers
- 3 fresh grape leaves or bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- ¼ teaspoon food-grade calcium chloride optional, see notes
Instructions
- Remove the blossom end of your cucumbers and place them in a large bowl with ice water.
- Add water, salt, garlic, spices, and grape or bay leaves to a clean mason jar. Secure the lid and shake for 1-2 minutes until the salt is dissolved. If you are using calcium chloride, add that to the brine as well.
- Using clean hands, pack the cucumbers and dill into the jar with the salt water brine. To make this easier, I like to pour the brine into a separate jar while I get the pickles situated.
- Once the cucumbers, dill, and brine are all in the jar, make sure that the cucumbers are fully submerged.
- Place a fermentation weight or spring on top of the pickles to keep them submerged as they ferment, then top the jar with a fermentation lid.
- Place jar somewhere out of direct sunlight and allow it to ferment at room temperature. You’ll notice the brine gets cloudy and bubbles form while the pickles are fermenting; this is completely normal.
- Start tasting your pickles after a week has passed and allow them to ferment until they are the flavor you prefer. They will get more sour the longer they ferment. You can leave them to ferment for up to 4 weeks.
- Store the finished pickles in the fridge for up to a year.
Notes
- I recommend using distilled or filtered water, but if you only have access to tap water, simply leave the water out on the counter for 24 hours. This will allow the chlorine, which hinders fermentation, to dissipate.
- For extra crispy pickles you can dissolve ¼ teaspoon of food-grade calcium chloride into your pickle brine. This is a completely optional step; I’ve made many batches without it. However, it does make for much crunchier, crisper pickles.
- If you can't find fresh dill, 4 teaspoons of dried dill will work.
- You can skip the fermentation lid, but you will need to burp the pickles every day or so by opening the lid to release built-up gas.
Nutrition
Serving: 1quart-sized jarjarCalories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 7gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 11696mgPotassium: 888mgFiber: 8gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 962IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 182mgIron: 4mg
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