That is the recipe I'm currently using. It's just the cukes, a room-temperature, salt water brine (1 Tablespoon non-iodized salt per cup of water), plus dill, garlic, peppercorns and mustard seed as desired.
- cukes
- water (room temperature)
- salt (1 Tbsp salt per cup of water)
- seasonings
In my current, non-airconditioned kitchen, it requires about 72 hours sitting out on the countertop (shaken twice each day) to start to bubble and smell like pickles. That is the "half-pickled" stage, which I like. So I move them to the fridge after that, to keep them at that "half-pickle" stage. But I recall a huge barrel of them sitting out on the floor of a nearby deli, back in the 1950s. Including a grape leaf (or hazel leaf) or two at the start will add tannin, and make them a little crisper. THIS RECIPE IS OFFICIALLY UNSAFE, since
Listeria can still grow. Since I'm the only person eating them, I take my chances with my soil in my garden and on my hands.
Yesterday,
@cincydave's "only so many pickles" comment caused me to get off my butt, and start up my third large jar of lactate fermented pickles. Jar #3 is thinly sliced. There are only so many cucumbers a man can eat per day, Ranch or no Ranch. [In the 1950's, my mother would often eat a cottage cheese and cucumber sandwich for lunch, hoping to remain slender. I've never been remotely tempted to try it.]
And I'm running out of freezer space for squash and green beans. The elephant in the garden is my tomatoes. I count scores of them—beefsteak as well as yellow pear, but not yet a single ripe tomato. I think I'll go down to only 60 square feet (1 bed) of veggies next year.
Bob
