We love pickles in our family, and these ones are our definite favorites…. Deli-Style, delicious, “good for you”, yumminess 
My kids would eat half the jar in one sitting, if I let them 
- 3 to 4 pickling cucumbers, depending on size
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons unrefined sea salt (Pink Himalayan or Real Salt works well)
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced cross-wise
- 3 to 5 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon pickling spice
- 1/4 teaspoon dill seeds
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
Other Items you will Need:
1-quart sized wide-mouth jar (preferably with air-lock lid)
Wash cucumbers. If cucumbers are not freshly picked, soak in very icy water for at least 2 hours. Drain and pat dry.
Make your brine by mixing water and sea salt together until dissolved, set aside.
Cut off stem end of cucumbers and discard; slice cucumbers into spears by cutting them length-wise into quarters.
Place all spices, including garlic, in the bottom of a 1-quart sized mason jar, or other same size fermentation jar with air-lock lid.
Pack the cucumbers spears inside the jar tightly, cut stem-end down. Packing them in tightly will help to keep the pickles from floating when you add the brine. Break bay leaf into two pieces, place in-between pickle spears.
Pour the brine (salt water) over the cucumbers to cover completely. Be sure to leave 1-inch of space in the jar for expansion. (If you need more liquid to cover the cucumbers, make up another batch of brine using same ratio of salt to water as mentioned above.)
Place lid (preferably air-lock lid) on the jar tightly. If using air-lock fill with water according to instructions. Allow to ferment, at room temperature, for 2 to 3 days. (Pickles are done when they taste good to you.)
Remove air-lock lid, if using, and replace with storage lid — transfer to cold storage.
Makes 1-quart
*Sugar-Free / Grain-Free
An inch slice of fresh horseradish root and piece of horseradish leaf or grape or oak leaves in the bottom of the jar and a leaf at the top to cover the cuckes will keep the pickles “crunchy crisp” like everyone likes. Adding these is a sure fire way to keep your pickles very crunchy and crisp until the next pickling season. This will make all the difference between “mushy” and “crisp” pickles. I even use the horseradish leaves when making the lacto-fermented bread and butter pickles to keep them crisp. (I have also used some powdered horseradish and it helps, but not to the extent of the horseradish roots and leaves.)
Thanks for the tip. I’ve used grape leaves, occasionally, when I have them available. It is sometimes hard to come by horseradish leaves and find oak leaves that are certain to be free of pesticides. I do agree they help keep the “pickles” crisper, especially where storing them for longer periods of time.
I got a “start” of horseradish root from a relative…it’s easy to grow. Just take a portion of the root and stick it in the ground with the stem/leaf end up. It will start to grow and leaves appear in just two short weeks. It’s worth seeking out and planting.
Thanks, for the info. Will have to seek it out and try planting.
How is it lacto-fermented? I thought you needed dairy for that stuff?
Laura,
The process of lacto-fermentation happens when the starches and sugars found within vegetables and fruits are converted to lactic acid by friendly bacteria. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of putrefying bacteria. The term “lacto” in lacto-fermentation refers to this production of lactic acid.
To read more about this please see Lacto-fermentation: The Methods
This is the first year I have tried preserving vegetables by lactic acid fermentation. I have several half gallon ball jars of cucumbers on their way to being dill pickles. I have a small room that I have dedicated to be a “root cellar” but it is a former bedroom in the downstairs of a raised ranch. I also have several quart jars of cabbage on the way to being sauerkraut. I have replaced the two piece canning lids with plastic storage lids. I noticed when I did this, far less gas escaped the jars and I assume this is because the lids are not as air tight. How long can I safely expect to store these fermented vegetables. I am building shelves and the weather will be cooler soon and there is a window for ventilation.
You are right the plastic storage lids are not air-tight. This is why we created a special food-safe gasket for our Lacto-fermentation Air-lock Kits. We prefer using these kits over just a simple lid, as it allows air/gas to escape without any air getting in (lacto-fermentation is an anaerobic process). Which eliminates the possibility of jars exploding due to pressure build-up. The air-lock system also makes much better tasting ferments in our opinion and keeps most mold growth down.
A note about storage… Once the food has finished fermenting you will need to take any air-lock system off (if using) and replace with the plastic storage lid. Then you MUST put the fermented items in cold storage. For me this is the fridge, but for others it cold be a basement or root cellar… anywhere a temperature of at least 50 degrees F is constant (40F is even better).
If you do not keep them cold enough, they will continue fermenting and mold will eventually grow and overtake it. The cold slows the fermentation process down dramatically. If put in proper cold storage the vegetables could last up to 6 months, depending on the hardness of the vegetable (softer vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. will last a little less).
Putting a piece of Horseradish root in the jar will help keep them crisp..> Also some people use a horseradish or grape leaf to hold everything down on top, as well as to assure crispness ! I have had good results this way.
Karl, yes that can help with the crispness. Thanks for the tip. I have tried a grape leaf before and it did seem to help keep the pickles crisper.
Though I wonder if many people, not having vineyards in their backyards, would have a hard time obtaining pesticide-free fresh grape leaves?
Question: I made the pickles per the recipe, but they have a slightly bitter aftertaste. Anyone else notice this? It’s not a deal killer, and the pickles are still good, but there is a slight harshness in the flavor. Did I do something wrong? (Let them go three days, until actually, they stopped “working,” and put them in the ‘fridge. Thoughts? And thanks! I’d been planning to make pickles all summer, but only got to it now! Wonder if it was my English cucumbers…?
Hi Vita, it may be the cucumbers themselves causing the bitter aftertaste. I’ve had that happen to me before with a batch and then the next batch I made was fine. But I’ve always used the small “pickling” cucumbers and have never tried using English cucumbers. Sounds like you did everything right…. wish I could be of more help.
Do the pickles stay crispy when you do them this way? I have been making slices and they keep getting mushy and I am trying to determine what changes I need to make to keep them crisp. Thanks!
By the way — I just found your site and I love it!
I’ve done pickle slices and yes they do tend to get mushy. But the spears…the way I do them in this recipe, seem to stay pretty crisp for a while. I think it has something to do with the bay leaf. Adding a bay leaf or two when making the pickle slices may help, but I haven’t tried it myself.
Thanks! I am going to give them a try!