Lacto-Fermented Pickles {Easy Fermented Cucumbers}

When it’s cucumber season, I love making lacto-fermented pickles for a quick and easy gut friendly summer time snack. Crisp, tangy, and delicious, you will love how quick these are to make!

Lacto-fermented pickles are packed with gut healthy bacteria and have a tangy bite that is quite different from store-bought pickles. They are also crunchier since they are not cooked at all.

You will find that this will be a go-to recipe during harvest season!

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What is Lacto Fermentation?

The fermenting process for vegetables uses a combination of salt and water over the vegetables and allowing the good bacteria and healthy probiotics to grow and flourish.

This good bacteria is lactic acid bacteria which has been shown to quite good for digestive health.

For this to happen, you need air and time. Allowing air to escape is very important as carbon dioxide builds up during the lacto-fermentation process.

The salt is imperative to control the microbial growth and make an environment that encourages good bacteria growth.

Store bought vinegar style pickles are preserved with vinegar and processed using a water bath canner.

The process of fermenting pickles uses bacteria and salt with no heat.

Tools you may need to lacto-ferment pickles

Glass Quart Sized Wide-Mouth Mason Jar – It is important to use WIDE MOUTH JARS to accommodate the fermenting weights and lids. Mason jars make the best fermentation jar, in my opinion.

Fermentation Lid – I absolutely love these MASON TOP AIR LOCK LIDS as they are super easy to use. The airlock lid doesn’t require burping or adding water to a water lock lid.

Fermentation Weight – These MASON TOP INFINITY WEIGHTS are perfect for fermenting as they have are amazing at holding down the veggies under the salt water.

Looking for another easy and delicious fermented recipe? Try my FERMENTED JALAPENOS

Ingredients to make these lacto-fermented pickles

• Cucumbers – I love using English cucumbers, but any variety of fresh cucumbers will work just fine. You will need 2-3 cucumbers. 2 if large, 3 if medium sized.
• Filtered Water – You will need 1 quart filtered water to make the saltwater brine.
• Salt – 2 tablespoons of fine sea salt.

Note: Fermenting other vegetables is a similar process to this, so experiment and enjoy the health benefits of the natural bacteria in these amazing foods!

Step by Step Instructions for making fermented pickles

The first step is to make the salt water brine.

In a small pot add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer.

Add the salt to the simmering water and stir well to dissolve the salt.

Add the remaining 3 cups of cold water to the brine to cool it down.

DO NOT ADD HOT BRINE OVER THE PICKLES AS THIS WILL AFFECT THE TEXTURE

Set the brine aside and slice the cucumbers as uniformly as possible and add to the quart jar.

I prefer to cut off the blossom end and the top of the pickles before slicing.

Now, cover them with the brine solution. Make sure they are submerged completely.

Add a weight to hold the slices under the brine.

Wipe the top of the jar to make sure it is clean.

Add a pickle pipe on top after wiping the jar rim. Place a ring on the jar.

Allow to sit at room temperature for 3-5 days. Start tasting them after day 3. Once they are to your liking, take the pickle pipe off, remove the weight, and place a regular lid on.

Move the pickles to the fridge to chill and slow the fermentation with a tight lid.

Troubleshooting your ferments

Kahm Yeast

From time to time, during the process of lacto-fermentation, you may find that there is a white film that covers your weight in the jar called Kahm yeast that is harmless.

I recommend skimming the yeast off as it develops. It can alter the flavor of the pickles.

Soft Pickles

Adding a bay leaf to the pickles will help keep them crisp throughout the process.

Variations

Add chopped garlic or whole garlic cloves to the pickles for added flavor.

For a spicy version, add 1 tsp of red pepper flakes.

Place a few sprigs of fresh dill for a version of classic dill pickles.