Thursday, July 18, 2013

Lacto-Fermented Pickles- Fast & Easy

I love pickles.

I found this wonderful recipe at The Healthy Home Economist.

Here's my version.

It's just me and my husband in the house now that the children are grown and out on their own.  He doesn't like sour pickles that much.

SO I just need a small amount of pickles.

I use a clean spaghetti sauce jar as my container.  Be sure to use glass. 

I buy just enough small pickling cucumbers to fit in my jar.  You can adjust the amount you need for your container.

Add the ingredients and wait two days.... TADA ... yummy probiotic pickles! 

How easy!

To have crunchy pickles, you will need to add oak leaves, grape leaves or bay leaves.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, uses oak leaves.  But when she held up her oak leave in her video- it didn't look like my oak leaves.  I live in Tennessee.  I have a ton of muscadine grapes growing in my yard- soon to be transferred to my vineyard that we will create this fall.  So I used those to keep the pickles crunchy.



RECIPE
* Small 'picking' cucumbers- sliced (enough to fit in your container)
* A couple of grape, oak, or bay leaves (to keep pickles crunchy).  I use muscadine grape leaves.
* Garlic- I use about a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic or 1 clove in my jar- use more or less for your taste.
* Sea Salt- I use about 1 or 2 teaspoons per 2 cups filter water.  It's making a brine.
* Filter water- I use 2 cups.  That amount works for my spaghetti sauce jar- probably about 20 oz.  Not all the water fits... I just wanted make sure I had a 'good' brine.
* Liquid whey- I use about 1 or 2 tablespoons
* Bay leaves - since I don't use Bay leaves to keep my pickles crunchy- I add them to the jar.

Put the leaves in the bottom of the jar.  Add the garlic.  Add the sliced pickles.  Add the salt and liquid whey to the water.  Stir until salt dissolves.   This makes the brine.

Pour the brine over the sliced pickles.  Leave about 1 inch of head space at the top of the jar to prevent mold from forming.  Screw on the lid tightly.   

Leave on the counter for about two days.  After two days, use a clean fork, dip out one slice, and taste.  If it tastes great, store in the refrigerator - they are done.  If not sour enough, leave on the counter.  Taste each additional day until they are to your liking.

If mold develops throw them away.  

~~~

Liquid whey can be strained from plain yogurt.  Or you can get it from cheese making or clabbered milk using yummy, wonderful, healthy REAL unpasteurized milk.  

See my link for more info on clabbered milk and whey ...  Fermented Ginger Ale and Lacto-Fermented Ranch Dressing


PS- don't use 'regular' cucumbers- only the small pickling kind.  The others end up mushy.

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3 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing on Tuesday Greens! I haven't made pickles yet, but will keep this recipe in mind when I do. Have a great week!

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  2. Thanks for sharing with Natural Living Monday! These pickles sound great!

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  3. Thank you both. I love your blogs. :)
    They are very tasty- ans so easy!

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