Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (2024)

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (1)

I’m out of control, you guys…

Since my foray into homemade sauerkraut earlier this year, I’m now on a kick to ferment everything…

I have to admit, it helps that I’m no longer scared of the whole process, and have learned that fermented foods don’t taste gross– as long as they are done right.

My homemade fermented ketchup boosted my confidence even further, so I hunted down some pickling cucumbers at the Farmer’s Market (the ones in my garden aren’t ready yet…) and have dove head-first into the salty world of old-fashioned brined pickles.

And my oh my, I am so glad I did.

But first, in case you’re wondering about the whole brined pickles vs. fermented pickles vs. vinegar pickles thing, here’s a quick run-down:

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (2)

Three Ways to Make Pickles

  • Fermented/Brine Pickles: These are the ones we’re making today. Fermented pickles rely on good old-fashioned salt and beneficial bacteria to make things happen. The best part about a fermented pickle recipe? It’s easy to make as little (or as much) as you need, and they are packed-full of probiotic benefit.
  • Vinegar Refrigerator Pickles: These guys are also simple to make, however, they will be lacking in the probiotic department. Instead of using the fermenting process, refrigerator pickles rely on vinegar for that traditional pickle tang. Learn more about quick pickles and find a great brine recipe in my article here.
  • Traditional Canned Vinegar Pickles: I’ve made a whole lotta canned pickles in my preservation career thus far. The benefits of canned pickles is that you can put up big batches at once and they will be shelf-stable for long periods of time. The downside? The high-temps ruin any beneficial bacteria and a lot of the nutrients. They can also be mushy if you aren’t careful. Check out my 5 Best Tips for Crispy Crunchy Pickles before you can your pickles for some ideas on how to prevent mushy home-canned pickles.

Why Use an Airlock Fermenting System?

Airlocks make the fermenting process even more fool-proof (especially for beginners) by reducing the the chance of mold, and allowing the ferment to release gases without you having to “burp” it. Can you ferment without an airlock? Sure, but to me, an airlock seems like cheap insurance for a better end result.

There are a number of air lock systems out there, but I’ve been lovingthe Fermentools system.It fits right onto mason jars so I don’t have to buy a bunch of special jars, and it makes it easy to makebigbatches (I did several 1/2 gallon jars with this pickle recipe, and it didn’t take any extra work or equipment to make it happen). I’ve been working with Matt from Fermentools for a while now and he’s been totally helpful as I’ve navigated my first adventures into fermenting.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (3)

Fermented Pickle Recipe

You will need (per quart jar):

  • Small pickling cucumbers*
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1-2 heads of fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dill seed, if you prefer)
  • Sea salt and water to make 2% brine solution (instructions below)

*It might be tempting to try to use the larger, slicing cucumbers to make pickles, but don’t. They are mostly water and will give you a mushy, limp result. Your local farmer’s market should have loads of pickling cucumbers if you can’t grow them yourself, and you’ll be glad you went to the extra trouble to find them. Here are my best tips for keeping your pickles super crunchy.

How to Make 2% Brine:

Dissolve 1 tablespoon fine sea salt in 4 cups non-chlorinated water. If you don’t use all of the brine for this recipe, it will keep indefinitely in the fridge.

I always use sea salt for my brines, but kosher salt or canning salt will work too. Just avoid iodized salts (learn why in my Cooking with Salt article).

The finer the salt, the less stirring you must to do to dissolve, which is niiiiiiice.

The Fermented Pickle Recipe:

Start with very clean jars.

Add the garlic, mustard seed, peppercorns, bay leaf, and dill to each jar.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (4)

Wash your cucumbers thoroughly and discard any that are mushy or soft. Remove the blossom end from each cucumber, and pack them into the jars. I prefer to leave my cucumbers whole, as it seems to give a crunchier end result.

Cover the cucumbers completely with the 2% brine solution.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (5)

Add a weight to the jar to keep the cukes from floating to the top. (I use the handy glass weights from Fermentools, but you can get creative with whatever you have on hand.)

Add the air lock assembly (or regular lid if that’s what you’re using), and set aside to ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days. Keep in mind, the warmer your kitchen, the faster the fermenting process.

After the initial fermenting process is over, remove the airlock, cover with a regular lid, and store at 32-50 degrees for up to six months. (I’m keeping mine in my fridge.) The pickles will continue to slowly ferment and improve in flavor during the storage process. After about six months, they will start to slowly degrade, but will absolutely still be edible. However, I’m betting they’ll be long-gone before then.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (6)

Fermented Pickles: What’sNormal?

Your fermented pickles might look a little bit different than the home-canned pickles you’re used to.

Here’s what to expect:

  • Cloudy brine, often getting cloudier as time progresses.
  • Fizziness! Fizzy pickles are totally normal and just a sign things are working as they should.
  • Liquid leaking out of the jar. Again, this is a normal process of fermentation. However, you can sometimes avoid it by making sure you don’t add too much brine to your jars.
  • Lots of bubbles = happy pickles
  • Pleasant sour taste. Fermented pickles have a slightly different tang than vinegar pickles. However, my kiddos are still gobbling them up.

If your ferments ever end up with a disgusting or putrid smell, that’s a good indication to toss them.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (7)

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (8)

Fermented Pickle Notes:

  • Want to keep things super simple? You can ditch everything in this recipe but the cucumbers and brine. Seriously! That’s the best thing about pickles– tailor them to your taste preferences and what spices you have on hand.
  • Want super-crunchy pickles? Follow the tips in this post.
  • My Fermentools airlocks makes it super easy to make larger batches of pickles– especially in my half-gallon jars. However, if you only have a handful of cukes, you can still jar them up to ferment in small batches.
  • Can I use whey in my ferments? Yes, some folks use raw whey in their fermented vegetable recipes to jump-start the fermenting process. However, I haven’t found whey to be necessary, and I like the flavor a simple salt brine brings to a recipe.

More Fermented Food Recipes & Tips:

  • How to Use a Fermenting Crock
  • Fermented Ketchup Recipe
  • Pickled Green Beans Recipe
  • How to Make Sauerkraut
  • How to Make Dairy Kefir
  • How to Make Kombucha

Where to Buy Fermenting Stuff?

I’ve been totally impressed with myFermentoolsequipment. Here’s why:

  • The airlocks work with the jars I already have.
  • You can easily make big batches of fermented foods with little hassle (no lugging around heavy crocks, either)
  • Their glass weights are super nice to justpop into my mason jars so the food doesn’t float out of the brine and get gross.
  • There’s a super-handy chart on the front of their ultra-fine powdered salt bags to help you figure out exactly how much you need for the perfect brine

Shop the online store at Fermentools HERE.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (10)

This post is sponsored by Fermentools, which means they sent me one of their air lock systems so I could try it out. However, like everything I promote here on The Prairie Homestead, I don’t promote it unless I’m actually using it and loving it, which is absolutely the case here.

Homemade Fermented Pickle Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (2024)

FAQs

How long should homemade pickles ferment for? ›

Environment. Choose a suitable environment for the optimal fermentation: temperature between 70°-75°F is ideal. At that temperature, it will take 3-4 weeks for a full fermentation. If the temperature is higher, spoilage is more likely.

What is the ratio of salt to water for fermented pickles? ›

Measure salt exactly: 2 level tablespoons of salt per liter of water for half-salt pickles or 3 tablespoons of water for traditional salt pickles. The pickles are ready after only 24 hours, when they're half fermented.

What improves pickle firmness for fermented pickles? ›

Lime is a source of calcium. Calcium improves pickle firmness. Food-grade lime may be used as a lime-water solution for soaking fresh cucumbers 12 to 24 hours before pickling them. Excess lime absorbed by the cucumbers must be removed to make safe pickles.

What's the difference between fermented and pickled pickles? ›

Are Pickles Fermented? Quick pickles are not fermented, but lacto-fermented pickles are fermented. Quick pickles, the most common type of pickle found in grocery stores, are not fermented because they use an acid, such as vinegar, in their pickling brine.

Can you ferment pickles too long? ›

However, you generally don't continue fermenting pickles indefinitely once they are considered "done" because the flavor and texture can change over time.

Do fermenting pickles need to be in the dark? ›

Leave your pickles in a dark, cool-ish place to ferment. Depending on how sour you want them, you may want to leave them for longer or shorter. I find that after 2-3 weeks, they get pretty sour, which is what I like. It also depends on how long you can resist cracking them open.

Can you put too much salt in brine for fermentation? ›

Salt in fermentation encourages the growth of healthy bacteria, while at the same time kills off bad bacteria. We need to be precise when measuring the salt and water, especially when fermenting vegetables that will be submerged in brine. Too much salt may kill off all the bacteria, thus preventing fermentation.

Can you use tap water for fermenting pickles? ›

Tap water often contains chlorine, which kills bacteria. When making a vegetable ferment, the bacteria are critical for a good outcome, and filtered water provides a stronger guarantee of success. However, there are two easy ways to get around using filtered water: Boil water, then let it cool to room temperature.

What salt is best for fermenting pickles? ›

Pink Himalayan salt, sea salt, fleur de sel, and grey salt are ideal for vegetable fermentation. Kosher salt and calcium chloride may be appropriate in some cases. Table salt is not recommended.

Why did my fermented pickles turn mushy? ›

It may be a normal reaction during fermentation caused by bacteria. If the pickles are soft, they are spoiled from the yeast fermentation. Don't use them. Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature.

How do you keep pickles crisp when fermenting? ›

Add a Source of Tannin

Tannins work against softening enzymes and help keep pickles crunchier. They can be found in various sources, such as grape leaves, oak leaves, raspberry leaves, black tea, etc. Add some directly to your jars!

Why are my fermented pickles bitter? ›

Why do pickles have a strong, bitter taste? This happens when you use old spices, cook too long in vinegar, or you use too much spice. Use fresh spices – use whole spices within 3-4 years of purchase. Use the processing time and method recommended in the tested fresh preserving recipe.

Are Claussen pickles fermented? ›

Claussen pickles, like many pickles, are made through a process of fermentation, usually involving cucumbers, brine (salt and water), and various spices. The potential health effects of consuming Claussen pickles are generally positive, as pickles can offer some health benefits.

Which is healthier pickled or fermented? ›

The differences in their preservation does result in several differences in their available health benefits. The main difference in the health benefits between pickled and fermented foods lies in their probiotic properties. Fermentation generates more beneficial bacteria in foods, making them probiotic.

What is healthier pickling or fermenting? ›

An easy way to remember the difference between the two despite their overlap is that pickling involves putting food into an acidic brine to produce a sour flavor, whereas fermenting gives food a sour flavor without any added acid. Pickling is often the least healthy choice in terms of these two foods.

How long can I ferment pickles? ›

The short answer is 1-2 years for traditional pickles, assuming a good recipe with adequate salt content and fermentation time (traditionally anywhere from a month to a few months).

How long do pickles need to set before eating? ›

Vinegar-preserved pickles may also need time: most refrigerated pickles taste best if they sit for at least 2 days, and processed pickles generally want to be stored a few weeks before they're open so that they fully develop their flavor.

How long do pickles need to brine before eating? ›

These guys aren't ready right away – they need some time in the fridge to soak up the brine and become really flavorful. Dill pickle chips will be ready in 24 hours, while spears will take at least 48. They'll keep in the fridge for several weeks, and they get better as time goes on. For best flavor, wait about 5 days.

How do you know when homemade pickles are ready? ›

Like the Bread & Butter pickle recipe says should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor. The same for Quick Sweet Pickles - 4-5 weeks. But for many it just boils down to taste. You taste them and if they taste good to you, they are done.

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