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Probiotic pickle slices in a bowl.

Probiotic Pickles

Kate Schat
Fermented pickles have a great taste and offer lots of nutritional value over traditional vinegar pickling methods.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Ferment 4 days
Total Time 4 days 30 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 16 servings
Calories 9 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 ½ cups sliced pickling cucumbers
  • ¼ medium onion sliced
  • 3 garlic scapes
  • ½ teaspoon peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 3 tablespoons non-iodized salt
  • 1 quart filtered unchlorniated water
  • Horseradish or grape leaves to keep the pickles under the brine

Instructions
 

  • In a quart jar, add onions, scapes, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and then the cucumber slices. Push them down and add more/don’t use all if necessary to have your slices right below the threads of the jar. Dissolve the salt in the water, then pour to cover the cucumbers.
  • Use a horse radish or grape leaf or one of the other ideas to keep them submerged - this is very important to keep it from going moldy.
  • Put a lid on and don't crank it on unless your fermentation weight requires that. If you can leave the lid loose you won't need to burp it. Let them sit on counter, on a baking sheet or plate in case they overflow, for 4-7 days.
  • Once the brine is cloudy you know that fermentation is doing its thing! Make sure pickles stay submerged this whole time. You can start tasting them on day 4; only leave longer if you like them really sour. We err on the side on less sour since we are storing them for up to a year.
  • Tighten the lids, move to fridge or cool room and they keep 6-12 months. Once we want to eat them, the fermentation weight comes out and doesn't need to go back in.

Notes

  • Remove and don't use the blossom end of the cukes for crunchier pickles.
  • There are lots of ways to keep pickles under the brine if you don't have leaves or weights.

Nutrition

Calories: 9kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 1309mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.1mg
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