Are you looking for a delicious condiment for barbecues and sandwiches? Fermented sweet and spicy pickles are the PERFECT summer pickle. A colourful mix of vegetables flavoured with garlic and ginger and blended by fermentation so that none of the flavours take over.
This simple no-cook and zero-waste recipe is one of my favourites. I usually make a batch as soon as barbecue season starts, then I reuse the brine for a continuous supply of pickles! See the section below for more details.
How to serve fermented sweet and spicy pickles
While my kids will eat pickles straight from the jar, here are a few more serving suggestions.
- Perfect for barbecues: These pickles are delicious on burgers, veggie burgers or hotdogs.
- Sandwiches: I LOVE sweet and spicy pickles in a cheese sandwich. They go perfectly with extra old cheddar.
- Charcuterie: A colourful addition to a charcuterie or appy platter.
- Salad: For a quick salad, toss a cup of pickled vegetables with lettuce for a salad.
- Toppings: I add a forkful of fermented pickles to pretty much every meal. They’re delicious as a side dish or served on top of a soup, stew or Buddha bowl. These sweet pickles are a probiotic alternative to sauerkraut for anyone with a sweet tooth.
Continuous Batches of pickles
The brine can be reused for several batches of pickles. When you’re almost done eating the pickles, fill a new jar with carrots, peppers, cucumber and onion. Then pour the brine over the vegetables. The ferment will go more quickly the second time, so only ferment for 1 day, then let the pickles sit in the fridge for another 3 to 5 days for the flavours to blend.
I usually make 2-3 extra batches of pickles from the original liquid.
Fermented Sweet and spicy pickles
This pickle is a bright combination of salty, spicy and sweet. It’s packed full of flavour from the onion, garlic and ginger which mellows nicely with fermentation. The perfect pickle for the summer season. See the section above for serving suggestions.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1.5 quarts 1x
- Category: Pickles
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the Brine
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 2 tsp non-iodized salt
- 1 cup of cider vinegar (with mother, see notes)
- 1 cup of water, chlorine-free
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 tbsp of ginger root, finely chopped
For Fermentation
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers (about 2 small cucumbers)
- 1 coloured pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of carrots, thinly sliced in rounds (about 2 large carrots)
- 1 chilli pepper, sliced in circles (optional for those who like heat)
Instructions
- Mix the salt, sugar, water and cider vinegar in a large measuring cup. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
- Slice the vegetables and mix them in a large glass bowl.
- Pack the vegetables into a glass jar(s) for fermenting. They don’t need to be pounded in like you do for sauerkraut, just tightly packed. This recipe will fill a 1.5 quart (1.5 L) jar or two 1-quart jars.
- Divide the garlic and ginger between the jars. Then pour the brine over the vegetables. There should be enough to completely cover them.
- Use a weight to keep the vegetables from floating, then cover and allow to ferment somewhere cool and dark for 2-3 days. A closet or cupboard is perfect.
- Store in the fridge to curb the fermentation. The pickles will last in the fridge for at least 2 months, however, the vegetables will get softer over time, so I recommend eating them eat them within one month. See the information above on reusing the brine for continuous fermented pickles.
Notes
- These pickles use cultured apple cider vinegar for the ferment. To make sure your ACV will work, look for vinegar labelled raw, unpasteurized or with mother. For example, this brand works well. These pickles can also be made with strong brewed kombucha or jun.
- Sugar is not required, however, the resulting pickle will be more salty, spicy and sour. Sugar also helps feed the ferment, so the pickles won’t be quite as sweet as you may expect.
Keywords: vegetarian, gluten free, keto, nut free, dairy free, egg free, probiotic, hotdogs, burgers, barbecue, summer, spring, fall
Would a tea towel be an appropriate loose covering? And okay to use a plastic bowl (I don’t have a large glass bowl, only stainless steel or plastic…)?
You could ferment in a jar, then transfer to a second jar for finishing. Glass is the least reactive… you just don’t want to have a metal or plastic flavour in your ferment. Though a hard plastic bowl or stainless steel should be fine.
Excellent! My kids especially enjoy this one.
★★★★★