Fermented brine pickles are wonderful, tasty and require no heat treatment!
To make your Pickle Brine:
Minimum 2.5 FLAT tablespoons of salt per QUART of water
Maximum of 3 FLAT tablespoons of salt per QUART of water
[Recommended Jars are 2 quarts each]
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or use this Metric Recipe:
12 very slightly rounded tablespoons salt (185 grams/6.5 ounces) per 5 Liters of water
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Bring salted water to a boil in a stainless steel or glass pot, then let it return to absolute room temperature BEFORE adding the brine to your jars, which have been packed with fresh ORGANIC veggies, cut up as needed, or not.
Fermented brine pickles are made using no heat and no vinegar whatsoever. Once cooled, the brine can be poured over ANY kind of veg that you have pre-packed into mason jar,allow room at the top of jar for your glass corks [aka: Tapering conical pint glasses] to protrude downward into the jar, as you need to stopper the wide mouth mason jar with a tapering glass from the get-go. The reason for this is that it prevents the vegetables from coming in contact with air – – if you were to just put a lid on, there is nothing to prevent vegetables from air-contact, which can lead to mold. Putting a “glass stopper” in the top until the Brine overflows slightly is 100% insurance against air contact.
Here I am using very small glass bowls as glass stoppers. A tapered glass can also be used as a stopper.
If you add dry black tea, or fresh horseradish leaves, that will make your pickles crunchier. Place the dry tea and any dry black peppercorns at the bottom, otherwise they tend to rise to the surface, which is messy but of no other concern.
Let ferment on counter top, out of direct sunlight for for 7 to 14 days, or at least until bubbles stop being generated. Because the brine will tend to bubble over the sides, you want to set your mason jar in a deep bowl to catch any salt froth, and top it off with more reserve brine that you have stored in a handy bottle,
During the fermentation stage, keep the brine level flush up to the very top edge of your jar…after the jar stops bubbling, and the brine is cloudy, you can cap with a PLASTIC [ NOT METAL] mason jar lid and set it in the fridge, ready to eat. At this stage, there is no need to keep the brine topped off.
Use any spice you like. Spices I enjoy:
oregano
garlic
dill
spearmint [Moroccan-style spearmint is best]
red pepper flakes
black pepper
fennel
tarragon
thyme,
Horseradish leaf [for crispness]
I highly recommend: