Traditionally Fermented Probiotic Pickles

Fermented probiotic pickles are a delicious traditional-style cucumber pickle. They are really easy to make at home, and well worth the effort for every pickle-loving person. There are a number of different ways to ferment pickles at home, and all of them will result with an amazing tasting pickle.

Here’s an overview of everything you need to know to ferment pickles in your own kitchen.

Containers for Fermenting Pickles

There are lots of different ways of fermenting pickles. I do all of them regularly, mostly because we love pickles! Both open air fermenting and sealed fermenting work. So try out whatever set up will work best for you.

Open Air Fermenting

Open air fermenting involves keeping the cucumbers submerged below a brine, and simply covering the top of your fermentation container with a cloth to prevent bugs from getting in. Here are some pros and cons to open air fermenting:

1. Con: Open air fermenting requires a bit more work. You will need to check it every three days to skim scum off the top of the pickles and add water as it evaporates.
2. Pro: It is easier for newbie-fermenters to try making a small batch of pickles in individual jars.
3. Con: There is more risk of contamination with open air pickles. Mold growing on the surface of your fermentation crock doesn’t necessarily mean it will have affected the pickles… but it’s definitely a risk.
4. Pro: Using a fermenting crock allows you to make a HUGE batch of pickles all at once.

Here are the two common ways of open air fermenting

• Mason jars with a weight: This is a very low-tech way to ferment. All you need is a large jar for the pickles, and a smaller jar, filled with water, nested inside the larger jar as the weight. Wide-mouth masons and small jam jars are a perfect fit. You can also buy weights specifically designed for wide-mouth mason jars.
• Fermenting Crock: A fermenting crock is a large stoneware container with a weight to keep the vegetables submerged. It is the most traditional way of fermenting, and it has the advantage of making large batches of pickles all at once.

Sealed Fermenting

Fermenting in sealed jars is my preferred way to ferment. If you plan on doing a lot of fermenting, then it is definitely worth the investment. Sealed jars are amazing because:

1. They greatly reduce the risk of contamination. If you start with a sterilized jar, there isn’t any way for unwanted mold or bacteria to get in.
2. You won’t have to remove scum, watch for mold or burp the jar. Just pack your vegetables and leave them in a cool, dark location to ferment.

Here are a few common sealed fermentation containers:

• A fido jar is a flip top jar with a rubber seal. A good quality fido jar will be able to handle the build up of gasses during fermentation. I don’t recommend a low-quality fido, as they are mostly decorative and might shatter under pressure.
• An airlock is a way for gas to escape, while keeping unwanted bacteria and oxygen out of the jar. These are usually used for homebrewing, but you can buy mason jars fitted with airlocks.
• The pickle-nipple turns a mason jar into a fido-jar like fermentation container.

Probiotic Pickles

This probiotic pickle recipe will fill 2 mason jars. Feel free to scale it up if you want to make a larger batch. I usually do around 16 lbs of pickles each August to last us for the whole year.

-We really love pickles!-

These fermented pickles will need to either be eaten or preserved within 2 months. If you want pickles that you can ferment for several months before eating, then I recommend my Grandma’s Fermented Pickle Recipe.

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