Making sour fermented pickles is easier than it seems. Pickles ferment in a simple brine for about a week until they are half or full sour to your preference. Fermenting pickles is a great way to preserve the summer harvest!
The story of pickles in our home is very complex. I grew up eating your basic dill pickles out of the jar. It was a major revelation when I discovered bread and butter pickles at a friend’s house. I really never gave pickles or pickle recipes much thought.
My husband was raised on Long Island in New York. His family is Jewish. He grew up eating half-sour and full sour pickles from the kosher deli, probably made right on the premises.
When we got married our pickle histories collided. Seriously. Pickles (or the lack of) are a BIG DEAL around here! I refer to my husband as a “pickle snob” because he will not anything other than a full sour pickle.
Full sours are hard to come by in our grocery stores and even if I can find them, they are expensive.
I had to find a sour pickle recipe and make them myself. How hard can it be? It’s a cucumber put in something, right?
It turns out that his half and full sour pickles are actually fermented pickles whereas the dills I grew up eating are seasoned pickles.
We let this batch sit for about a week and they were really still half-sour. Next time we’ll go 10 days and see how they turn out.
For this batch I used some smaller cucumbers I found at Costco and they weren’t the best for pickling. I’m planning to pick up some proper pickling cucumbers at the farmer’s market soon so I can preserve the summer harvest!
Full and Half Sour Fermented Pickles
Pickle Recipe for Sour Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pickling cucumbers
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
- 3 fronds dill
Instructions
- Place pickles, garlic, coriander, peppercorn and dill in a large food safe container.
- In a bowl dissolve salt in water. Pour salty water over the pickles and spices.
- Fill a quart or gallon sized freezer bag about half full of water. Place on top of pickles to keep them covered with the salt water.
- Cover lightly and set aside.
- In a few days scum will start to form at the top of the water. Use a slotted spoon to remove.
- Pickles will be half-sour in about 4-7 days and full sour in about 7-10 days. Remove water bag and any addition scum. Refrigerate and pickles will keep for a few months.
I started my first batch of pickles ever, today. In addition to your recipe, I saw that my favorite pickles, Bubbies also uses mustard seeds and their own proprietary blend of spices, though they don’t specify what (naturally). While shopping for ingredients, I noticed a jar of pickling spices, so I picked that up as well. In addition to slicing the garlic, I had some older peeled garlic that is no longer really sharp, just mellow, when I crush them (I like to add fresh, crushed garlic to my Costco bought Jack’s fresh salsa), so I crushed some up and added it to the mixture as well. I used some vegetable wash to make sure that the surface was extra clean, so as not to add any bad bacteria to the mix. I used slightly less than a teaspoon to the pickling spices and I’ll see if I over used all of those extra spices. I used less than a teaspoon of the mustard seed, too, as there is already some in the pickling spices. The more garlicky, the better, imho, but I’ll let you know in an update. Btw, Kirby pickles weren’t in yet at the farmer’s market, so I’m using organic cucumbers that they had. The man I asked, who works there said they should pickle well.
Thanks for the tips!
Update: I made my first batch of pickles and they turned out pretty good. As I said previoulsy, I didn’t use Kirby pickles as they weren’t available, but a similar type. I used a Ball lid made with a one way valve and a steel spring that came with it, that keeps the pickles, or other fermenting items below the liquid. I saw them at Walmart Supercenter. The only thing was that the pickles were a little soft in some spots and I think that was due to the spring forcing them down. They came out slightly better than one brand that I frequently buy, Ba-Tampte (meaning tasty in Yiddish and Hebrew), but not as good as my favorite, Bubbie’s (grandma in Yiddish). I made more than one jar and let the second one continue to ferment about a week longer and they got closer to the Bubbie’s in taste. I should also say that I didn’t go strictly by this recipe, but mostly by it. I added more crushed garlic, sinceI like them really garlicky, and I added approximately 1/4tsp of mustard seeds as Bubbie’s show mustard seed in their ingredients. I also used freeze dried dill, that I found in the farmer’s market, instead of fresh dill and 1/4tsp of pickle spices that I happened to see when I was shopping for the ingredients. The longer fermentation time definitely added to the more garlicky taste that I like so much, so I would say that if you really like more garlic, to let it ferment longer. It won’t hurt the pickles at all. For a first try, I’m really happy with the results. I just want to see if not using the steel spring make will make a difference in the pickles not having soft spots. Onto my next batch!
Thanks for the update, David!
I attempted my first ever batch of pickles following a recipe that suggested using distilled water to make the brine not chlorinated water. I placed the cucumbers, garlic and dill in new mason jars that were washed first then filled the jars with the brine. At day three I removed some foam from the top. At day five I inspected them and found they all had a bright, almost flourescent green mold on them. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Robert! Not sure! We’ve never specifically used distilled water – just plain old tap water.
What will stop these from getting even more sour once I put them in the fridge? Iām on day 3 right now and I canāt wait for them to be ready!
Eating them! š They will continue to ferment the longer they sit. You could probably take them out of the brine and just store them in another brine? I’m not sure on that one! I make small batches and they never last long.
hi,
I make a lot of sour pickeles and many times they come out gassy.
how can I prevent it?
Hi Fay, I’m not sure what you mean by gassy? -Camille
Instead of using/wasting a plastic bag, most of us here in Israel just use a large glass jar and then pack the top with fresh dill. You fill the jar up to the top of the dill and keep it topped up, as the brine has a tendency to expand (you put the jar in a bowel). Once the pickles are done, they are ready to go into the fridge, in the same jar.
As for the woman who asked about the leftover pickle bring, no, you can’t re-use it. But you can use it in things like Polish Pickle Soup (which is AMAZING), and in other foods that require a salted water. It is packed with natural probiotics, and super healthy (except for folks on salt-restricted diets).
These are just as I remember them tasting as a kid eating them with my Dad in New York! My husband and I have the reverse story of you and your husband where he was the one that grew up eating dill pickles and me with the full sours. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe – it brings back good memories, I know my Dad would love have loved these! This is my second year making them and my brother will be visiting us in WI soon, can’t wait for his childhood flashback when he tries them!
Ah, I LOVE this so much!! My husband was just complaining that I haven’t made him any this summer.
I made pickles from your recipe the very first time I made sour pickles and they were perfect. I have to make more now, so my question is can I use the same brine from the first batch r should I just throw it out and start over again?
I have never reused the old brine but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work.
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Just finished my first batch and at 7 days they are delicious! I used sea salt and the water ended up quite cloudy. Making another batch today with pickling salt and we’ll see if that makes a difference. I did rinse the current batch and will add some fresh brine today because I just felt it would look more appetizing to set the jar out on the table. Thanks for this recipe. This will become a staple in my pickle recipes.
Hi Debb! Thank you for stopping by to share! I’m so glad they are working for you. The liquid does get quite cloudy, but I noticed that in the store bought sours we buy as well. Let me know how the pickling salt works. I haven’t tried making them that way. Happy pickling!
Still very good using the pickling salt. My brother, who makes lots of sour pickles, recommended rinsing the pickles when they were fermented to the desired sourness and then adding a TBS or 2 of vinegar and the strained brine back to the jar. Going to try that with this batch. I’ve never seen the hubby and friends like pickles so much!
Oh I’ll have to try that trick your brother mentioned. I’m slacking – I haven’t made a batch yet this summer!
They’re bringing back good old memories. The very first time I ever tasted a brined pickle I was 11 years old. I was visiting my best friend’s grandparents on their farm in Illinois. We snuck down the stairs into the musty cellar where there were all manner of strange things covered with cobwebs. My girlfriend slid an old crock out from under the bottom step, pushed the scum aside and offered me a pickle. I hesitated because of the creepiness of it all, but after a bite of hers, I went in for my own. We wiped them on our shirt tails and crunched them down. I’m sure that we didn’t get away with sneaking pickles, the way our shirts smelled at the dinner table. But the joy of that plate of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans from the garden . . . oh to be 11 again.
What a sweet story, Debb! Thank you so much for sharing. A summer on a farm sounds amazing right now, for sure.
I made these on Friday and had one today. Yummy, however they are SUPER salty. And I am a salt loving person. Bought another pack of the small cucumbers at the store today and am going to make another batch with less salt. I know the first batch will disappear quickly even if they are too salty.
Yes, they are salty. I’ve found that to be the difference between a dill pickle and a sour pickle. Lots of salt! But totally change up the amount of salt to get them to your taste. Let me know how they turn out!
Can’t wait to try this!
I use to adore pickles when I was younger. A good friend of mine always had a jar in her fridge and I’d snack on them every time I went over. It’s been a long time since I had one and I bet your homemade version is way better than anything storebought. These look great!
My MIL just got back into home made pickling, she use to do it when she was younger. I am going to have to send her this recipe the herbs you have added here sound incredible.
I could eat pickles all day long! These look wonderful.
I still haven’t canned pickles yet. These look great. I love the garlic in them.
Fun story, and we love pickles too! Now I can make my own!!! š
Amazing, I go through my weight in pickles during the summer š
I love pickles! I have to admit, I had never had a bread and butter pickle until just a couple of years ago lol. I can’t wait to try your sour pickle recipe. Thanks for sharing!
half sours are my favorite! I bet these were perfect even after sitting only a week. š
I’ve never been successful making my own pickles! Can’t wait to try yours!
Ohhh, love it! I am going to pick up some pickles next week at the Farmers Market. I have to give this a try! We love our pickles here!!
I’ve yet to make a batch of pickles that my husband likes. My cousins and brother have all loved the ones I’ve made but my husband isn’t much of a sweet pickle person. These sound right up his alley.
I’ve never made pickles. However, I think once I do I’ll start with a recipe like this. I do enjoy sour pickles from a deli.
I’ve never tried to make my own pickles, either, Camille, but I have pickled beets and okra and I imagined the process is much the same. I’m curious about what makes a cucumber a pickling one or not. I always thought the little ones WERE for pickling. I await your further instructions.
These were labeled as cocktail cucumbers and I think they are even smaller and skinnier than a pickling cucumber. They certainly worked, but they weren’t quite as round or plump as I would have preferred!
I’ve never tried to make my own pickles, either, Camille, but I have pickled beets and okra and I imagined the process is much the same. I’m curious about what makes a cucumber a pickling one or not. I always thought the little ones WERE for pickling. I await your further instructions.