Fermented pickles in salt water, step by step
Interactive lesson: turšija with no vinegar — fresh vegetables and crunch, the brine, fermented cucumbers, cabbage-stuffed peppers, mixed pickles and soured turnip, fermentation and storage.
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The whole lesson as text
1. Fresh vegetables and crunch
Fermented pickles need even fresher vegetables than pickles in vinegar.
- Picked today — Cucumbers go into the brine the same day, the next day at the latest. Pickling cucumbers (gherkins) 5–10 cm (2–4 in), firm and dark green.
- Blossom end — Scrub the cucumbers with a brush and cut 1–2 mm off the blossom end.
- Ice water — Before packing, soak the cucumbers 2–4 h in cold water.
- Leaves for tannin — 2–3 leaves of sour cherry, grapevine, horseradish or oak per litre of vessel. They hold back the softening enzymes.
Why: The bacteria need the sugar in the vegetables, and soft vegetables stay soft. A cucumber that has sat in the sun stays hollow, and the blossom end holds enzymes that soften it during a long ferment.
- Calcium chloride (sold in the US as Pickle Crisp) is allowed and works here too; follow the instructions on the pack. Alum, aspirin and salicylic acid don't go into pickles.
- Above 24 °C (75 °F) cucumbers go soft and hollow, however fresh they were.
2. The brine
The brine is the salt water in which the vegetables ferment.
- Stronger for cucumbers — For whole cucumbers, 40–50 g of salt per 1 L of water.
- Other vegetables — Peppers and mixed pickles 30–35 g/L, green tomatoes 35–40 g/L, beetroot and carrots on their own 30 g/L.
- Water and salt — The water is drinking quality; if it smells of chlorine, boil it and let it cool. The salt is non-iodised and weighed. Dissolve it in lukewarm water, then let it cool.
- Extra, no vinegar — Make 10–20 % more brine than you think, for topping up. Vinegar doesn't go into the brine.
Why: In the first days, salt is the vegetables' only protection. Cucumbers hold a lot of water and soften quickly, so they need a stronger brine than other vegetables.
- Don't dilute the brine "because it's too salty". If the finished pickles are too salty for you, soak them briefly in cold water before eating.
- Don't add "a little" vinegar: it holds back the bacteria that need to work, and there isn't enough of it to protect the pickles on its own.
3. Fermented cucumbers · Locked
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4. Cabbage-stuffed peppers · Locked
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5. Mixed pickles and soured turnip · Locked
Buy the Turšija and pickled cucumbers module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
6. Fermentation and storage · Locked
Buy the Turšija and pickled cucumbers module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.