Pickles

If you are looking for a crunchy, satisfying pickle recipe with a little bit of a kick, this is it! These pickles are a fool-proof ferment. You can double or triple this recipe if you have many cucumbers on hand. And if you are looking for a pickle fermentation kit, this is a great one! This recipe came to us from Sarah in the Gut Health Guru’s Facebook Group. 

Ingredients:

Baby cucumbers (preferably market fresh!)

1 litre of filtered water

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp mustard seed

Cloves

Cinnamon

Coriander

Chilli

Bay leaf

1 tsp peppercorns

Crushed garlic

¼ tsp black tea leaves or grape leaf (this will keep them crunchy!)

Small sliced onion

Method:

1. Use market fresh baby cucumbers, scrubbed and flower end trimmed. Slice them if you do not want to use them whole or they are too large!
2. In a small pan, heat 1 litre of filtered water with 2 tbsp salt to dissolve (this salt ratio is VERY important)
3. In the bottom of the jar, put in 1 tbsp mustard seed, a few cloves, a small stick of cinnamon, 1 tsp of coriander seeds, 1 dried or fresh chilli, a bay leaf, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1/4 tsp of black tea leaves or a grape leaf (which help keep everything crunchy), and a small sliced onion. This is to taste, use what you like or what you have available. 
4. Layer in the baby cucumbers as tight as you can and leave a couple cm of space at the top
5. If you have some brine left over from a previous ferment, pour in about 1/4 cup (if not, this is okay!)
6. Pour in cooled brine to cover.
7. Close the jar, give it a gentle shake, put a pickle pepple on top of the cucumbers to keep everything submerged (however if you packed everything in tight enough it shouldn't move)
8. Burp the jars every couple of days if you remember, or use a pickle pipe to let the carbon dioxide out! Give it a smell and a swirl, should smell sour and tangy.  They will be ready to eat after a week and it’s fine if you leave it longer. Put them in the fridge when you are ready to eat them!

These are a great addition to any diet or meal, use these pickles as a side, on hamburgers, salads, or sandwiches. Make sure to share your creations with us in the Gut Health Gurus Facebook Group!