Old Fashioned Fermented Garlic Dill Pickles use no vinegar. The fermentation produces lactic acid, naturally. This process for pickle making requires maintaining the pickle barrel, crock, plastic bucket or food grade container of your choice at approximately 85° Fahrenheit for 6 weeks. I do this by putting the container in the oven and leaving the oven light on.
One of the most unusual aspects of this recipe is the ability to add more spices after the initial fermentation. My latest batch, originally had 2 heads of garlic. After 2 weeks in process, a sample taste lacked sufficient garlic and dill flavor. More was added and a week later another sample taste showed those flavors sufficient.
Most of the recipes for garlic dill pickles on the 'net use vinegar. While vinegar won't make bad pickles, in does change the flavor. I like my old fashioned fermented best so, I'm giving you my way.
If after the 6 weeks of aging (like fine wine, only much faster) you want to keep your pickles, strain the brine of all solids. Boil it up, allow it to cool to room temperature. Fill you pickle jars with pickles and top over with brine. Heat can those as for any pickle. Genuine dills do not keep well. That isn't to say the go bad. What does happen is they lose their flavor first, and then some texture (goes soft). I never can keep them once made, so for me, that has never been a problem.
I don't profess to have my spice profile perfected. It's still a work in progress because I only buy cucumbers when the price goes to 3 pound for $1.00 (US Dollar). I give you the spices and herbs I use in this recipe.
One last point: for every gallon of water use no more than 4 ounces of salt. I weigh this amount on a scale. Please don't try measuring by volume, using, for example: Morton's Kosher Salt and expect to get 4 ounces of salt. Not happening! For those interested this is about a 20° strength brine. I see a lot of dill pickle recipes that call for either fresh or dried ginger. It's not a flavor I like in dill, so I use horseradish. I believe that as the Germans, English and Scandinavians developed their pickle recipes over the years that horseradish would have been a readily available ingredient compared with fresh ginger. Anyway, I use horseradish, cutting the bulb on a mandolin to make thin rounds.
6-July-2014 - a small addition. If you are selecting cucumbers, or harvesting them from a garden or farm, leave the stem about ⅛" to ¼" long. Once pickled, those long-ish stems may be removed. For 4 gallons of water, 16 oz. of mixed, dried pickling spice is sufficient. This does not include the weight of the fresh dill. The dill (which I cannot buy at markets in Southern California), should have the seed heads in bloom, but the seeds not yet dropping. That is the best dill. I've added the source of this information as the last URL in the list below. I think that the given quantity of 1 oz. of pickling spice per gallon of water is too little. I use about 4 ozs. of spice per gallon of water. I like a highly flavored pickle. YMMV.
whole cinnamon sticks
mustard seeds - any color
coriander seeds - increasingly being denominated: cilantro seeds
allspice - whole
black pepper - whole
dill seeds - whole - optional, I use more fresh dill - sometimes called dill weed - at today's prices it's not priced like a weed
fennel seeds - whole
cloves - whole
mace - blades (same as whole)
celery seeds
bay leaves
hot chile pepper whole
horseradish - the secret ingredient
garlic - fresh
dill - in bunches
If you have an interest in how professional pickle makers made their pickles about 100 years ago, along with some spice profiles and other tips, you can read my technical post at
Old Fashioned Fermented Garlic Dill Pickles
There the science of pickle making is revealed.
For the very technically minded, you can read about Dill Pickle Making at these page:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1h6rAvaMe8RKihQyAL...
https://docs.google.com/file/d/14LHJaHfcAYIy8lFIt...
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1-VhloMPH4byALiBtB...
https://archive.org/details/MakingFermentedPickles
FAQs
For the lacto-fermented pickles, you want to make a simple salt-water brine that's approximately 3.5% salinity, which is 35 grams of salt per liter of water.
Which pickles have the most probiotics? ›
Quick pickles made in vinegar will not hold nearly as much beneficial bacteria potential as fermented pickles. Fermented pickles are considered a probiotic food, which means they contain beneficial strains of bacteria that, if consumed often, can contribute to the population and diversity of our gut microbiome.
How long do dill pickles take to ferment? ›
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 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.
Can you put too much salt in brine for fermentation? ›
Proper salting is critical for successful fermentation. Too little salt is not enough to kill unwanted bacteria while too much salt can stop fermentation so don't be tempted to adjust the salt in recipes. The best salts to use are pickling salt, canning salt or coarse salt.
Can you use too much salt in 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.
Do pickles clean your gut? ›
Pickles are also high in particular types of fibre that feed beneficial gut bacteria, acting as prebiotics – food for the probiotic gut bacteria. Studies have shown that adding fermented vegetables to your diet may help with digestion and manage symptoms of constipation and diarrhoea3.
How many pickles a day for gut health? ›
The right amount of pickles
Aim to have between two tablespoons and ¾ cup of pickled vegetables per day, Hutkins says. That's the range eaten in studies showing health benefits. If you load up on more, you could get yourself in a pickle with your doctor.
What is the healthiest pickle? ›
“The pickles that are beneficial for your gut health are the fermented ones, made by brining them in salt rather than vinegar,” says Dr. Oppezzo. “While vinegar pickling is a common method, true fermentation in brine enriches them with beneficial probiotics for your gut.
How to tell when fermented pickles are done? ›
2) Allow your ferment to go for 7 days untouched. After a day or two, you will start to see bubbles, and the brine will become cloudy. This is the beneficial bacteria doing their job! 3) Taste your ferment on day 7 with a clean fork.
Fermented pickles can hang in the fridge for months (we've had them shelf life tested and the official lifespan is 18 months). They're so delicious however, they'll be consumed long before that time.
What is the best water for fermenting pickles? ›
Clean and fresh with no chlorine, chloramines or fluoride.
- Distilled water has been purified and contains no minerals or chemicals.
- Bottled water may be spring/river/stream water or municipal tap. ...
- NOTE: once chlorine is removed, refrigerate water to limit bacterial growth.
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.
What keeps fermented pickles crisp? ›
Use Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride (CaCl2), sometimes known as “pickle crisp”, is a type of salt that helps preserve the crunchiness of food. It is used in the food industry to help preserve the texture of canned fruit and vegetables.
What is the secret to crisp dill pickles? ›
The best way to keep your pickles crisp is by taking an extra moment to remove the blossom from the end of the cucumber. By adding this extra cut, you have a crisper pickle. Other ways to ensure a crisp pickle is by adding grape leaves to your jar. I tend to cut off both ends of the cucumber as I quickly process them.
What is the best salt concentration for fermentation? ›
Generally, we recommend using 2% of the weight or volume of the ingredients in salt in your lacto-fermentations. (See How to Choose Between Brining and Dry Salting to find out whether you should calculate from weight or volume). To remember: The less salt (1 to 2% salt), the faster the fermentation.
How much salt per gallon of water for pickles? ›
Mix ¾ cup salt, ½ cup vinegar, and enough water to make one gallon. (For smaller amounts—mix 3 Tbsp. of salt with 2-3 Tbsp. of vinegar and add water to make one quart.)
How do you balance salt in pickles? ›
Add vinegar
Vinegar can also be used to balance the salt in the pickle you have made. Vinegar works to balance the hardness of the salt. You can balance out the excess salt by adding homemade sugarcane vinegar to it.
