I made a fresh batch of fermented pickles.
Here’s what went into it:
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Dill
- Hot Peppers
I used a 2.1% salt ratio, and let this batch sit for 11 days.
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Before we go further, you should NOT consider any of this to be authoritative advice; it’s a discussion of how I prepare and process fermented pickles for my own consumption. You can find guidelines about proper fermentation processes and food safety via USDA and Extension resources, and there are also plenty of books about the matter.
Here’s what would typically go into 1-gallon and 3-gallon batches, which is close to a recipe as I have come up with.
1-Gallon
- 12-16 medium cucumbers
- 1 lb carrots
- 1-2 stalks celery
- 1 small-medium head of garlic
- 1 jalapeno or hot pepper, most seeds removed
- fresh dill (couple of sprigs)
3-Gallon
- 36-40 medium cucumbers
- 2 lbs carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 2 medium heads of garlic
- 2 jalapenos or hot peppers, most seeds removed
- fresh dill (lots of of sprigs)
I tend to prefer smaller cucumbers, and so a 3-gallon batch might take 40-50. I grew some larger cucumbers this year, and put 8-10 into a 1-gallon batch.
My notes about 12 per gallon come from my earlier experiments based on the pickling cucumbers I could find at grocery stores.
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Smaller batches are also possible. I mainly use my 1- and 3-gallon ceramic fermentation crocks with loose-fitting lids, but I also use jars from IKEA (57oz with loose-fitting silicone lid), and have also used 1 quart and 2 quart canning jars. When using glass jars, keep them out of direct sunlight.
How it Started
I starting making fermented pickles a few years ago, with two goals in mind.
First, I always wanted to replicate the taste of the pickles my grandfather used to make.
Second, we used to visit an annual fair, and I always looked forward to visiting a pickle vendor for their jalapeno pineapple pickles. The pickle shop announced they were closing, and I’ve never seen jalapeno pineapple pickles before or since then. I’d have to make my own – that motivated me to get started.
While I still haven’t made jalapeno pineapple pickles, I think I’ve mastered a basic recipe – listed above.
Fermented Pickles vs Vinegar
You might be thinking “fermented?”
When you buy unrefrigerated pickles, they’re often made with vinegar. When you buy refrigerated pickles with cloudy brine, they’re often fermented.
Fermentation involve creating a favorable environment for Lactobacillus bacteria, which feed on natural sugars and produce lactic acid.
Instead of vinegar, lactic acid gives fermented pickles their tartness.
Pickling Salt & Salt Ratio
I use common “pickling and canning” salt, which is additive free and fine-grain for easy dissolving, and filtered water. You can use kosher salt, it just takes a lot longer to dissolve.
The salt percentage is 2.1% by total weight (of vegetables and water).
I started with a 3.5% brine. The results were mostly good, but inconsistent. I then moved to 2.5% total weight ratio, but felt everything tasted a bit too salty.
2.0% seems to be the general recommendation for a safe veggie ferment.
2.1% provides a little more control and a slightly slower fermentation rate. This is my second year using a 2.1% ratio and I’ve been very pleased with the results.
I use a scale for this. Let’s say a ferment has 1.2kg of vegetables and 0.8kg of water. The total weight would be 2kg. I would then measure out 42 grams of salt.
Total weight salt ratios involve more steps than just using a water-weight brine method (e.g. 3.5% to water weight), but is more consistent. Let’s say I pack a jar with cucumbers. It will take a certain amount of water for everything to be fully submerged. Now let’s say I fill every gap with carrot sticks. Such a ferment would take less water for everything to be fully submerged, and so the total salt concentration will be lower. With a total salt ratio, packing density has less influence on total salt concentration, and we can be sure that the total ratio will always be at least 2.0%.
Fermentation Gear
You can get started with as little as a glass jar – this one’s an IKEA 57oz jar for $5 – and a Ziploc baggie, and you’ll also need a kitchen scale.
I have had good experiences with this KitchenAid dual platform scale from Amazon. You can get a simpler scale, but I like this one because it offers greater resolution for salt measurements.
Everything must be submerged under the brine with a food-grade weight. I use glass or ceramic weights made for this purpose. If you don’t want to get anything fancy, you can use a food-grade glass or ceramic bowl or plate, or a food baggie filled with brine (so that it won’t dilute the salt ratio in case of a leak).
Everything should be loosely covered with a dish cloth, plastic wrap, or similar. Or you’ll need a sealed lid with an airlock or similar venting mechanism.
Fermentation should NEVER be done in a sealed container. The container should be loosely covered, vented, or used with an airlock. Fermentation also produces CO2, and the pressure must be relieved somehow, or you risk damage and injury at most, and a huge mess at the least.
One of my grad school roommates learned this lesson the hard way. I don’t remember what they were trying to do – it was some kind of beverage – but their fermentation experiment led to splatter stains all over the ceiling.
Cucumbers
I grow my own cucumbers now, starting from seed, and try to harvest them small.
When shopping at farmers markets or grocery stores, you want Kirby or pickling cucumbers. Selection and freshness can vary wildly, which is why I started growing my own.
A lot of other types of cucumbers don’t ferment well. Persian cucumbers can be fermented, but they’re delicate. Because of that, home-grown can be temperamental, and store-bought might be coated with wax or similar to promote longevity, hampering fermentation.
The home-grown cucumbers are despined – something you shouldn’t have to do with store-bought – and soaked in an ice water bath for several hours. I then trim the blossom and stem ends.
The cucumber blossom end must be trimmed, as it has enzymes that can make the pickles mushy. I trim the stem end for convenience. The cold water bath helps firm things up and promotes crunchier pickles without needing added chemicals.
Other Ingredients
Why carrots? Why celery? Because that’s how my grandfather made pickles. I love the taste of fermentation-pickled carrots and celery, and find they add complexity to the taste of everything, even if slightly. Too much celery is bad – it made everything bitter.
I normally add jalapenos, but my Kimchi-style peppers ripened in time for this batch. I think red hot peppers impart a better taste. If shopping at grocery stores, look for Fresno peppers.
For the carrots, I prefer the kind that’s sold with the greens still attached, and I break off the greens once I get them home. These carrots tend to be slimmer than others. I peel and cut the carrots to a shorter size and cut thicker carrots in half.
The celery must be organic, as I have read that non-organic celery can retain a lot of artificial chemicals and pesticides. Keep in mind that you need an environment favorable to Lactobacillus bacterial growth. On a similar note, if you have chlorine in your drinking water, use filtered or bottled water.
My grandfather used to ferment-pickle green tomatoes. I have yet to find or be able to grow a suitable variety for that.
Fermentation Tips
It’s best for everything to be as fresh as possible, and blemish-free.
You don’t want anything floating. On Day 2, any floating matter, whether a pepper seed, piece of dill, or whatever, is skimmed off. Some people use cabbage leaves or similar to prevent pieces from floating to the surface. For very loose ferments, such as hot peppers, in narrower jars, I use onion slices.
Kahm yeast can develop at the surface. I check for this every couple of days and skim it off as needed.
Any floating material can potentially promote mold, and we don’t want that.
I knock my jars on the first and second day to loosen up any air or oxygen bubbles. After that, I knock the jars to liberate CO2 bubbles.
The difficult thing about fermenting vegetables is that there are so many influencing factors. Temperature, for example, can also influence things. What works for me might not work for you.
I have found that 8-12 days works great for full-sour pickles.
Refrigeration slows but doesn’t completely stop the fermentation process.
Fermented foods should be eaten in moderation. First, they’ve got a lot of salt. Second, fermented pickles and veggies have live bacteria. Start small. Your gut and anyone spending time in your close presence will appreciate your adherence to this recommendation.
Experimentation is key.
Final Commentary
Don’t want to go through the hassle? Lots of grocery stores have an increasingly large section of fermented pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, and similar.
I have come to enjoy the process and results. I tried store-bought spicey fermented pickles a few years ago. My son and I both got food poisoning. The next jar I tried didn’t make us sick, but was unenjoyably hot.
One of these days I’ll try jalapeno or habanero pineapple pickles. I asked the closing pickle vendor for advice, and they said they “add the flavorings halfway.”
Home fermentation means I can dial in the heat as desired. I can have fermented-pickled carrots without having to find specialty stores. And no, vinegar-pickled giardiniera doesn’t come close.
Travis
Slow news day
Stuart
Well, someone asked me to share details, and so I am.
Thin Kerf
Is this a preemptive post for a new launch? A Milwaukee Pickled Red cordless pickler with 75% more pickle? A Dewalt PowerPickler? Has Makita given up on power tools and is switching to the snack game?
Stuart
Well, some of these brands do have cordless coolers that might help with temperature control.
I’ve also been testing out a chamber vacuum system for both food and workshop needs.
fred
Maybe there is an idea for a tool company to make a kimchi container that fits into a battery-operated kimchi refrigerator for camping trips.
eddiesky
LOL! Makita Fermi XGT Pickling Fridge! Cordless pickles!
Thanks for this Stuart! I just picked some fresh hot peppers and green beans from a family member’s community garden and thought, should pickle these and other veggies! (yes, I was allowed to pick…I was with the family member helping as there was too much to go to waste)
John
I think we all need to slow down a little, so thanks for posting this Stuart
Dave
I love the tool reviews and this was an added bonus. Nice work, chef.
jake
Very interesting and informative post; thank you!
Goodie
Pretty cool – kitchen stuff is, indeed, tools. Describing the techniques you use those tools for is equally important. Thanks for the article!
Rog
My least favorite food(s) posted on my favorite blog. I am conflicted.
Stuart
The thing about fermentation is that a lot of the same principles and prep can be used for very different foods.
Sriracha shortage? Make your own.
fred
Fermentation can occur when you do or don’t wish for it to happen. In the Boy Scouts – dried beans, rice, grains and cereals were a staple of expedition/hiking treks in the summer. Soaking dried beans in water overnight was the way to prepare them for cooking the next day. One scout decided that if an 8-hour soak was good then longer would be better. So, when a plastic container of water and chickpeas burst in his backpack on the second day in New Mexico heat, he learned a bit about how fast fermentation can occur.
Stuart
The absence of salt or proper controls can lead to spoilage.
Even with foods that are safe to home-ferment, there are so many pitfalls and hazards. If food isn’t submerged? There’s risk of mold and spoilage. If the container is airtight, there’s risk of explosion.
All that makes safe fermentation a process rather than a simple “here’s what I made, and the recipe I used.”
Big Richard
Wrong sub? I think you meant this for the r/fermentation sub, though I haven’t seen you in there in a awhile.
Stuart
Reddit’s selling user-generated content to generative AI companies doesn’t sit well with me.
They can earn bonuses and train AI off of the countless “is this mold?” posts.
Big Richard
AI doesn’t sit will with me. But I’d rather they learn from good content versus “Can I hack this?” types of posts. And now I can add “generative AI trainer” to my CV.
Stuart
My content, ideas, and hard work are stolen and reused without credit too often as it is.
I’ll help people on 3rd party platforms to an extent, but there’s a point of inflection where new and unique content is mainly helping for-profit generative AI services.
You can already see Google and others pushing genuine content way down in search results, following AI “answers,” sponsored ad listings, and garbage content sites that spew nonsense in a way that algorithms think are helpful.
Once you start seeing people use generative AI to create “can I hack this deal” types of posts, that’s where the real fun will start as generative AI services enter decaying feedback loops.
Big Richard
I feel ya. It’s even harder for us semi-professional reviewers, having to compete with paid influencers and AI. Our voice is largely lost in the comments of some paid shill’s youtube video where they teach you “the trick that 99% of you don’t know”. But I digress.
Kyle
Realest thing I’ve ever read. The big content hosts have always done their best to exploit the creators on their platforms, creating a race to the bottom that sees insightful meaningful content get lost in a sea of clickbait crap.
Now the big tech companies are trying to do away altogether with pesky “creators” by just churning out low quality AI garbage. Like you said (and it’s already happening), that low quality AI garbage is being fed back into those same AIs, lowering the quality even further.
It’s probably a lost cause though. Catering to the absolute lowest common denominator will always yield maximum profit, so it doesn’t matter how bad the content gets, as long as it keeps making money.
Andy
Foodguyd! I like the change in pace occasionally
Stuart
I registered the domain 13 years ago, and let it expire. I also had “newlyfed.” More recently I had pickleguyd.
Maintaining other sites requires ongoing time and effort. A post here and there on here is a lot easier. And if no one likes it, they can skip the post.
That said, there are hard boundaries.
I keep getting pitches for off-topic products, such as hemp underwear, and that’s far from being the strangest.
Alexk
Have a pair made from Bamboo. Feels like a blend of cotton and non itchy wool.
Rx9
Impressive, Stuart. DIY food production/storage is a natural fit with the general DIY nature of this blog. I appreciate the article.
My favorite long term storage process is drying, because it seeems to be the most foolproof.
Stuart
That’s on my to-do list. Some make sour or spicy salt blends after processing pickles or fermented hot peppers.
I’m growing some super hots this season, and drying is one of the easiest ways to process them. Although, some have yet to fruit, so there might not be anything to dry,
Plain+grainy
There’s lots of equipment available for homemade wine making. I imagine that some of that equipment would work with pickles also.
Stuart
Yes, and no.
Bob Hinden
Cool, they look great!
One question, you mentioned ” jalapeno pineapple pickles” I see any pineapple mentioned in your recipe. What’s the difference?
MFC
Excellent post. I’m interested in the pickling process as I adore pickled jalapeno and garlic. It seems like a very worthwhile pursuit for some good gut additives as well. How long do the pickles store? I assume in the fridge so as the fermentation is slowed considerably. Have you made any other fermented foods? Kombucha, Kefir, etc?
Stuart
For large batches of jalapeños, I’ve found that vinegar pickling tastes a lot better and stores better over time (refrigerated, we haven’t canned them yet).
I started vacuum sealing fermented pickles last year, and they’ve stored better than in jars.
We’re still eating pickles from last year, and they still taste great. I made 11 gallons so far this year, and the last cukes from my plants are still on the counter.
I’ll try to make sauerkraut at some point.
Hot peppers have been challenging.
MFC
Good to know. Eventually my wife and I will try this. I have made Kombucha (only been successful with apple juice as a base since I don’t like the tea flavor), and she’s done Kefir, sourdough, etc. But we find with those types of things you have to keep feeding it and it can become quite a hassle. Pickling sounds a lot simpler than trying to keep little organisms alive to transfer to the next batch, but I’ll be referring back to this post to get the ratio of everything correct. Thanks again!
Steve
We’ve been making fermented sauerkraut using our vacuum sealer. Once the air is vacuumed out and the bag is sealed, the lactobacillus does its thing, without needing to worry about mold. Just be sure to allow for extra bag space for the CO2 so that the bag doesn’t explode. A couple of weeks later, the sauerkraut is ready to eat. Thanks for this article. We need to try pickles next!
Grokew
I hope that soon we get a post telling us that you managed to make the Jalapeno Pineapple Pickles.
Here they make a fermented pineapple hot sauce.
Pineapple peels are placed in a clean jar, and covered with boiled water. That is allowed to ferment for one or two days. Then that water (peels removed) is used to cover the rest of the ingredients (hot chili peppers, garlic, thyme, cilantro, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt) and allowed to ferment further. Some people add pineapple chunks to it.
AA
Awesome idea, thanks! Found lots of recipes online.
Keith
There is a joke about losing my job and a pickle slicer, but to keep it PG, I will refrain.
Tangent content is AOK, you could tie it in so people won’t bellyache (ha!) by using a review knife to do the peeling and cutting.
Nathan
I enjoy some cooking. I grind my own meat a few times a year. Should do more
Meanwhile ever try vacuum sealing in a jar. My vac machine will do it but I’ve only done it with berries so far. Never really considered pickles
Lefty
Don’t know if you have thought about this Stuart but I always enjoy when a salad bad has small pickled Okra.
Stuart
Thanks!
I grew Okra last year but it didn’t ferment well for me. Maybe next year I’ll try a few plants.