Fermented Dill Pickles

Before adding brine to crock

• Five pounds of cucumbers from the farmer's market for $12.
• 4 qts water at room temperature
• 1/2 c plus 2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp pickling salt
• 2 tbsp pickling spice
• 8 cloves of garlic, sliced (can increase this)
• 4 heads of dill

I followed the instructions in this helpful video, but increased the amount of brine to 4 qts to account for the additional cucumbers and larger crock. I used our 5 gallon crock, which was heavy and ungainly, but I made it work. I fermented them for 3 weeks, although different sources say that shorter times can lead to crisper pickles.

They came out pretty good- although quite salty. I'll plan to play with the brine salinity when I make these again. They filled 4.5 quart mason jars when done. 

 Additional tips:

• Wash the cucumbers, slice off 1/16 inch of the blossom end, and soak them in an ice bath for 15-30 minutes to firm and crisp them up. There are enzymes in the blossom end that can make your pickles soft, so be sure to remove them.
• There seem to be different schools of thought on the salinity of the brine. A minimum of 3% saline is needed, which is 7 grams of salt per one cup of water. If you want a stronger brine or longer ferment, go up to 4.5%. So for example, 3.5% Ratio= 9 grams of salt per 1 cup of water, 4.5% brine =10.8 grams of salt ( 2 tsp salt) per 1 cup of water. Another source recommends a 3.5% salt brine based on the total weight of the cucumbers AND water. So 2000 grams of cukes and water will require 70 grams of salt.Use fine, unprocessed salt (sea salt) and unchlorinated, filtered water for best results. Boiling water for 15 minutes removes chlorine. 
• "Burp" the pickle jars periodically in the fridge. They keep about 3 months.
  

  

  Plate and mug weights