This recipe makes one gallon. When it is summer and pickling cucumbers are in season this will yield that classic Kosher Dill style pickle. You can make it with small Armenian cucumbers as well—which are available year round. I personally love the ritual of making these in the summer and seeing how long we make it before we’ve eaten them all and have to wait again for the next season. It gives pickle season a sense of occasion. Enjoy.
20 or so pickling type cucumbers (not waxed)
15 or so whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons pickling spice or:
1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
1½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon dill seed, or better a couple of fresh dill seed heads
6 bay leaves
1–2 hot dried red pepper
optional: grape, oak, or horseradish leaves
1 gallon prepared brine 3/4 cup salt (216 g) to one gallon of water
Scrub the cucumbers in water; take care to trim the stem and make sure the blossom end is clean as it contains an enzyme that will soften your pickle. Crush the garlic cloves slightly with the back of a knife, just enough to break them.
Place garlic and all other ingredients at the bottom of the jar. Pack cucumbers tightly into 4 wide mouth jars, or a 1-gallon jar. It is important to pack and wedge them in as much as possible.
Pour the salt brine over the cucumbers. It must cover all of the vegetables.
If you do have a grape leaf or other tannin leaf, this would be the time to add it. Remember, though these leaves add a measure of crisp security, but they are not necessary for the ferment—so if you don’t have access to them don’t worry about it.
Cover the jar, but do not tighten the lid—it needs to breathe out the CO2. If you are fermenting in a jar you can watch the process. At this point the cucumbers will be an incredibly vibrant green it will look as if all the colors are magnified. As they start to ferment you will see the cucumbers change to a drab olive color. This change is a result of the acids interacting with the chlorophyll. The brine will get cloudy–this is a normal part of the lactic acid production. If you are fermenting in a crock, no worries all this will be happening as well.
Place on the counter; open and check the jar once a day to skim off any foam or replace brine. After about 3 to 4 days you should have “half sours” and in about 6 days “full sours.” Tighten lid and put these in the refrigerator. If you plan on saving them to eat in a few months, refrigerate them on day 3 as they will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge. This will help with the crisp.
Check the brine level the day after placing in fridge. They cucumbers will have contracted and may leave the level too low. Add fresh brine to top off and tighten lid.
Note: As the cucumber matures to a pickle, the white interior flesh turns a waxy translucent color as the air is forced out of the cells. The half sours can look mottled, with the translucent flesh mixing with the fresh white of the cucumber. The full sours are fully translucent inside.