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A bit of a pickle.
Aug. 30th, 2017 02:14 pmI have been getting into pickling things. Mainly, but not only, cucumbers.
It turns out, it's really easy. Cucumbers are less easy than other veg cos they can go a bit over-soft if you get the proportions wrong, but I love properly fermented cucumbers so much I'll talk about them here.
So, you get a jar. I've been using 2-litre spring-top Mason jars. Needs to be properly clean but doesn't need to be sterile.
If you're doing cucumbers, then some source of tannins is needed to keep things crunchy. I use some vine leaves (the sort that you can get preserved in a jar); other people use blackcurrant leaves, oak leaves, black tea, or horseradish leaves. You also want to top & tail the cucumbers (AIUI this is to halt the ripening process). I can fit about eight small cucumbers into a two-litre jar; I think it's worth getting the straighter mini-cucumbers rather than the curly ones just for efficiency of packing. ETA: I've now tried making pickled cucumbers with tea instead of vine leaves as a tannin source (just add a teabag to the hot brine as it cools before adding to the jar and swish it around until it's the colour of very weak tea), and it seems to work. Plenty crunchy, no obvious tea flavour.
For seasoning (all of which is optional!) I use maybe half-a-bunch of dill weed, several cloves of garlic, peeled and halved, some dried chilis, bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, and mustard seed. I hear dill flowers are the thing to use, but they're something one has to grow oneself.
Salt solution "brine" is 3.5% w/v - this means 35g per litre of boiled-and-cooled water. 35g is about 25ml for standard table salt.
The fermentation relies on bacteria on the skins of your veg, which is why they need to be non-blanched, and why the brine can't be boiling hot. Pack all the veg and flavourings into a jar, and fill the jar with the brine. I sometimes use a slice of plastic bottle to stop stuff from floating above the surface of the brine.
Over the course of a week to ten days, you'll see the brine go cloudier, the cucumbers become a more yellowish green, and the smell and taste of the brine become more delicious. I tend to open the jar briefly daily to check the smell, taste a teaspoonful of the brine, and to vent any pressure build-up (though the jars I use seem not to explode, presumably the sprung lids let the gas out a bit. If you're worried you can use a less-sealed system).
When they're done to your liking, put the jar in the fridge; it'll slow the fermentation to a crawl and the pickles will keep for a good few weeks after that.
It turns out, it's really easy. Cucumbers are less easy than other veg cos they can go a bit over-soft if you get the proportions wrong, but I love properly fermented cucumbers so much I'll talk about them here.
So, you get a jar. I've been using 2-litre spring-top Mason jars. Needs to be properly clean but doesn't need to be sterile.
If you're doing cucumbers, then some source of tannins is needed to keep things crunchy. I use some vine leaves (the sort that you can get preserved in a jar); other people use blackcurrant leaves, oak leaves, black tea, or horseradish leaves. You also want to top & tail the cucumbers (AIUI this is to halt the ripening process). I can fit about eight small cucumbers into a two-litre jar; I think it's worth getting the straighter mini-cucumbers rather than the curly ones just for efficiency of packing. ETA: I've now tried making pickled cucumbers with tea instead of vine leaves as a tannin source (just add a teabag to the hot brine as it cools before adding to the jar and swish it around until it's the colour of very weak tea), and it seems to work. Plenty crunchy, no obvious tea flavour.
For seasoning (all of which is optional!) I use maybe half-a-bunch of dill weed, several cloves of garlic, peeled and halved, some dried chilis, bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, and mustard seed. I hear dill flowers are the thing to use, but they're something one has to grow oneself.
Salt solution "brine" is 3.5% w/v - this means 35g per litre of boiled-and-cooled water. 35g is about 25ml for standard table salt.
The fermentation relies on bacteria on the skins of your veg, which is why they need to be non-blanched, and why the brine can't be boiling hot. Pack all the veg and flavourings into a jar, and fill the jar with the brine. I sometimes use a slice of plastic bottle to stop stuff from floating above the surface of the brine.
Over the course of a week to ten days, you'll see the brine go cloudier, the cucumbers become a more yellowish green, and the smell and taste of the brine become more delicious. I tend to open the jar briefly daily to check the smell, taste a teaspoonful of the brine, and to vent any pressure build-up (though the jars I use seem not to explode, presumably the sprung lids let the gas out a bit. If you're worried you can use a less-sealed system).
When they're done to your liking, put the jar in the fridge; it'll slow the fermentation to a crawl and the pickles will keep for a good few weeks after that.