Fermented Dills
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 quarts
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Calories
- 21 calorie
- Total Fat
- 0 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 0 grams
- Cholesterol
- 0 milligrams
- Sodium
- 842 milligrams
- Carbohydrates
- 4 grams
- Dietary Fiber
- 1 grams
- Protein
- 1 grams
- Sugar
- 2 grams
- Total: 49 days 20 min (includes fermenting time)
- Active: 20 min
Ingredients
35 to 40 fresh pickling cucumbers, each no longer than 6 inches
2/3 cup pickling salt
1/4 head of fresh green cabbage, cut into 2-inch squares
8 cloves garlic
8 fresh grape or black currant leaves, each the size of a silver dollar
12 dried red chiles, optional
4 large heads of crown dill, stems trimmed
Directions
Special equipment:
Four 1-quart canning jars with lids, sterilized- Cover the cucumbers with cold water, scrub off their prickly spines and drop them into a colander.
- Combine 13 cups water with the pickling salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the salt.
- Into the bottom of each sterilized 1-quart jar, drop a layer of cabbage leaves, 1 garlic clove, 1 small grape leaf, 2 red chiles if using and a tuft of crown dill. Pack the jar with cucumbers, standing them upright and getting in as many as you can. Top each jar with another garlic clove, grape leaf, red chile and another tuft of crown dill. Pour hot brine into each jar, leaving 1/8-inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims with a cloth dipped in boiling water. Screw the sterilized lids on tight, as tight as you possibly can.
- Once they cool, transfer the jars to a warm place (75 degrees F or so) and let the pickles ferment for 1 week. This is the warm jump-start period for the longer ferment; the brine should get cloudy and the lid tops should become tight with pressure. Then transfer the jars to a cooler place (a root cellar would be great, but any place a few degrees cooler than room temperature is fine) and wait at least 6 weeks and up to 6 months before consuming.