Laura Rodriguez's Pickled Cucumbers

August 27, 2021

Kory Cheshier

Instead of waiting for your garden cucumbers to come to full maturity, pick them at various stages of small and medium and enjoy this quick and easy way to preserve them. This salt-brined fermented pickle produces a snappy flavor similar to a polish deli pickle and is a great way to use up a multitude of extras growing in your garden.

When pickling like this, leave your cucumbers whole and don’t cut or trim them in any way to ensure a good, crunch without having to pull out the canning equipment.

Ingredients

cucumbers, various sizes of small and medium, or substitute carrots or baby zucchini

8 cups filtered water

1/4 cup non-iodized sea salt

3 large garlic cloves

peppercorns, dill, dried dill flowers, onions, garlic scapes, chilis cut in half, or whatever combination of what is in your garden

Preparation

1. Sort cucumbers by size. Find a jar that fits all of one size and repeat for remaining sizes.

2. Prepare brine by combining water and salt. Set aside. Place cucumbers vertically, balloon side down and stem side up, side by side, nice and tight so they don’t move when you pour the brine in and float to the top. (When they float to the top, they can mold.) Pour brine into jars until full, add garlic clove and other garden items of choice. Top with grape leaves or fermentation weights if you like to keep cucumbers submerged.

3. Screw lids on jars and let sit at room temperature 7 days. Each day, remove cap once to “burp” the jars to keep them from exploding and reseal. After 7 days, move to fridge; pickles will keep for months.