Dining and Cooking
Lacto-Fermented Pickles
In Condiments and Seasonings

Lacto-Fermented Pickles



EP1 of #fermentationfridays — Garlic Dill Pickles! 🥒🧄 This is possibly my favorite lacto-ferment and perfect for beginners!

For more in-depth knowledge on fermentation, as well as detailed recipes, check out my ebook ‘probiotic pantry’: https://stan.store/kirstyk

Lacto-fermentation is probably the safest way to ferment as the salty brine creates an acidic environment that inhibits the growth of bad bacteria. So if you’ve always wanted to start a fermentation project but were lacking the confidence so far, let me guide you through it! 🫙

INGREDIENTS
organic cucumbers
garlic cloves
fresh dill
2-3 bay/grape/horseradish leaves

3% BRINE
• 30g salt per 1L water
➡️ use filtered water without chlorine
➡️ depending on the size of your jar you’ll need anywhere from 1-3L of brine

WHICH SALT IS BEST?
• unrefined sea salt
• himalayan salt
• pickling salt & kosher salt
➡️ avoid salt with added iodine, calcium silicate, dextrose, or other preservatives

CLEANING & SANITIZING
• before starting, thoroughly wash your hands, jars, lids, weights, and utensils with hot, soapy water
• for extra safety (if you’ve never fermented before and want to calm your mind), rinse jars with boiling water or a diluted vinegar solution
• rinse vegetables well to remove dirt, but avoid scrubbing too hard (you want to keep the good bacteria)

SAFETY TIPS
• keep everything submerged – ensure vegetables are fully covered in brine to prevent mold and unwanted bacteria
• check daily – look for bubbles (a sign of active fermentation) and ensure no veggies are floating above the brine
• avoid cross-contamination – always use clean utensils (not fingers) to handle the ferment

INSTRUCTIONS
Add the salt to water and stir until fully dissolved. Place cucumbers, garlic, dill and bay leaves into a clean jar. Pour the brine into the jar up until the top.
Place a fermenting weight on top to help keep the vegetables submerged. Close the jar and put in a dark spot to ferment for 5-14 days. Place a plate underneath to collect any over flowing liquid.
Open or ‘burp’ the jar carefully 1-2x a day to avoid pressure buildup and potential jar breakage. Once pickles have reached the desired taste/crispiness, move to the fridge to slow down fermentation.
The pickles can be stored in the fridge for several months.

Let’s make pickles. Welcome to episode one of Fermentation Fridays, where I introduce you to the magical world of microbes. Lacto fermented pickles are a great and easy way for beginners to get more comfortable with the process of fermenting. The cornerstone for these pickles are a salty brine with 3 to 5% salt to water ratio, which creates the perfect environment for lactic acid bacteria to thrive. These bacteria are naturally present on the skin of vegetables and start feeding on sugars in the cucumbers, turning them into lactic acid. This lowers the pH, creating an acidic environment where bad bacteria like botulism cannot grow and simultaneously producing the classic sour pickle flavor. After two to three days, the brine will turn cloudy, which means the bacteria are doing their job. For extra crunchy pickles, make sure to cut off the stems, control the fermentation time, and add things like bay or grape leaves, which contain tannins and are a natural crisping agent.

41 Comments

  1. @kirstykaminski

    INGREDIENTS
    organic cucumbers
    garlic cloves
    fresh dill
    2-3 bay/grape/horseradish leaves

    3% BRINE
    • 30g salt per 1L water
    ➡️ use filtered water without chlorine
    ➡️ depending on the size of your jar you’ll need anywhere from 1-3L of brine

    WHICH SALT IS BEST?
    • unrefined sea salt
    • himalayan salt
    • pickling salt & kosher salt
    ➡️ avoid salt with added iodine, calcium silicate, dextrose, or other preservatives

    CLEANING & SANITIZING
    • before starting, thoroughly wash your hands, jars, lids, weights, and utensils with hot, soapy water
    • for extra safety (if you’ve never fermented before and want to calm your mind), rinse jars with boiling water or a diluted vinegar solution
    • rinse vegetables well to remove dirt, but avoid scrubbing too hard (you want to keep the good bacteria)

    SAFETY TIPS
    • keep everything submerged – ensure vegetables are fully covered in brine to prevent mold and unwanted bacteria
    • check daily – look for bubbles (a sign of active fermentation) and ensure no veggies are floating above the brine
    • avoid cross-contamination – always use clean utensils (not fingers) to handle the ferment

    INSTRUCTIONS
    Add the salt to water and stir until fully dissolved. Place cucumbers, garlic, dill and bay leaves into a clean jar. Pour the brine into the jar up until the top.
    Place a fermenting weight on top to help keep the vegetables submerged. Close the jar and put in a dark spot to ferment for 5-14 days. Place a plate underneath to collect any over flowing liquid.
    Open or ‘burp’ the jar carefully 1-2x a day to avoid pressure buildup and potential jar breakage. Once pickles have reached the desired taste/crispiness, move to the fridge to slow down fermentation.
    The pickles can be stored in the fridge for several months.

  2. @AbrahamMorales

    Make sure to let the gas out every so often! First time I tried lacto fermenting pickles I put them on a jar with a screw cap and forgot about them for a few days. By the time I opened them everything started bubbling like crazy.

    The pickles where awful! Every bite was super fizzy, it was like biting into solid-state soda 😂. I must admit it was interesting but I would NOT recommend it.

  3. @AngieGandalf6

    How do you store these? I want to preserve pickles for a long time out of the fridge, I don’t know if I should do this or pickle with vinegar. Could I do the lactofermentation and then store in jars and boil them to seal?? I know this would kill healthy bacteria but you can’t have it all. If I just keep these pickles fermenting like this will they turn soggy?

  4. @AngieGandalf6

    How do you store these? I want to preserve pickles for a long time out of the fridge, I don’t know if I should do this or pickle with vinegar. Could I do the lactofermentation and then store in jars and boil them to seal?? I know this would kill healthy bacteria but you can’t have it all. If I just keep these pickles fermenting like this will they turn soggy?

  5. @valeriepvi3667

    Just in every place all over the world, the bacteria and fermentation processes are different…and the result is different. And if somwhere we have amaizing and healthy result , .somwere …is better just to not do it

  9. @tiffytries

    I just made fermented pickle chips… My first time. And… They got squashed and are a terrible texture! I will have to do it whole.

  14. @monia7850

    Those pickled cucumbers call Ogórki kiszone. Less mature Ogórki Kiszone call Ogórki Małosolne. Greetings from Poland 😊

  18. @УльтраФиолет-к5л

    Zoomers invented salted cucumbers.😂 Is it necessary to highlight the organic origin if the cucumbers? What would happen if they will not be organic? Black hole appear?😂😂😂

  32. @jmydn2

    How did this smell? I tried jalapeño and it smelled the absolute death. Tossed it.

  34. @emberpoptartkittenz6040

    thank you for telling to avoid thiamine mononitrate (when unnaturally sourced) it builds up in your fat cells, doesnt get used or broke down, causes: itchy ness, tendril web veins on legs, feet. and theres a max and lethal dose, this amount of thiamine is usually reached at age 70. and upon reaching max dose of thiamine mononitrate then you suddelny fall ill and die. doctor says "welp unnatural causes" and get s paid for your visit easy money for him and you died so he doesnt get bothered by you again! it gets worse if you let it, people( vitamin b12 is thiamine mononitrate not sure why they still call it a vitamin if its killing you)