Directions:
1. Bring filtered water to a boil. Pour into a glass, stainless steel, or ceramic bowl and dissolve the salt. Allow the brine to cool completely.
2. Trim off 1⁄4 in (6 mm) of the cucumbers at the blossom end.
3. Place the dill, bay leaf, mustard seeds, onion, garlic, and tea leaves into a quart-size, wide-mouth mason jar and pack in the cucumbers.
(You can also try our signature Perfect Pickles Spice Blend to replace all the dry spices in this recipe.)
(If the whole cucumbers are long and exceed shoulder of the mason jar, cut them in half or into slices)
4. Cover the contents with the brine until it reaches about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the top of the cucumbers.
5. Place Kraut Source onto the jar. Allow to ferment for 7 - 10 days in a cool spot, away from direct sunlight. Check every few days that there is water in the moat, and top off as needed.
6. Replace Kraut Source with the standard mason jar lid and ring. Transfer to the refrigerator.
Note: Trimming the cucumbers at the blossom end and adding tea leaves will help to keep your pickles crunchy.
My jar of pickles tipped over on day 4. Now on day 6 the moat has some fuzzy grey on water. I haven’t opened jar to see if it’s in the jar yet. 😞😩😖🤷♀️
@njoy: Your best bet is probably copying the recipe and pasting it into a Word or Google Drive document and print from that.
Kraut Source
Is there a way to print or save recipes?
@Heather Pacan: You can use a cheesecloth to cover, but make sure you have something to push your pickles down to be fully submerged beneath the brine. If you use a lid, you need to open and close it every everyday to let the carbon dioxide escape (what we call ‘burping’).
Thanks,
Kraut Source
Hello – if we don’t have a Kraut Source yet, should we cover the top with cheese cloth or a full lid? I am going to try the pickles and the sauerkraut tonight. Thank you.
@Dawn Kalsbeek: This means your ferment is very active. It’s up to you if you want to shorten the fermenting time. We recommend at least 5 days for all ferments; beyond that it’s really a matter of personal taste.
Thanks,
Kraut Source
After only 3 days of fermenting my pickles are bubbling quite significantly. Does this mean I will shorten the ferment time? Of course it is summer and our temps are higher. Maybe that is speeding up the process?
@Erika Nolan: If the questionable substance is a soft white color, it could be kahm, which is a natural yeast that’s a byproduct of fermentation. It’s harmless and you can just scrape it off. If the substance is grey, pink, or grey, than something has definitely gone wrong and you can compost and start over again. Please visit our FAQs page and see question #16: https://www.krautsource.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions
Some other reasons why mold could grow are if there’s not enough salt or if the temperature is too warm. So you can adjust those factors as well. I hope this helps.
Kraut Source
I pickled green beans for 6 days until I found mold at the top. What should I do? Why did this happen? I didn’t use green tea leaves.
@ JACLYN: You can slice pickling cucumbers, if you want. If they’re too big to fit in your jar then cut them down to size. Thanks.
@SHARON VOGT: yes you can eat the garlic.
For this recipe, could I use regular pickling cucumbers, sliced into spears?
Hi there! I love your recipe. Is it okay to eat the garlic too along with the pickled cukes?
Thank you!
@GAIL: The tannins in the tea leaves help the cucumbers stay crunchy.
Thanks,
Kraut Source
Is the green tea necessary? What does it contribute to the process?
I love your products! I bought 5 extra to have on hand for birthdays and Christmas presents. My saurkraut came out perfectly, I used the Golden Saurkraut recipe.
Thank you
@JANET: I’m sorry to hear your pickles came out with very strong garlic taste. Produce varies greatly depending on their age and season. For your next batch, try maybe just 2 cloves of garlic. The white substance you see is just yeast produced from the fermentation. It’s mold if you see a fuzzy or lumpy matter that’s green, pink, or grey. I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Kraut Source
I fermented my pickles for 10 days, and when I tasted them, they were nice and crunchy, but tasted only of garlic! I was quite overpowering. They tasted so strong I ended up throwing them out, sadly. I really like fermented pickles but without all the garlic. Can you suggest a tamer amount? Also, when I opened the jar, there was a white cohesive substance that was on the outside of the liquid at the top of the jar. Is it ok, like slime from the pickles, or is this actually a mold?
@SANDY SMITH: Pickles prepared with vinegar is a method of preserving the vegetables, but it does not ferment the vegetables, and therefore does not confer any beneficial bacteria. You need salt and water in order for the fermentation process to occur. I hope this helps!
Why isnt vinegar used in making pickles? That is my favorite thing about pickles.
@Cori: Cloudy brine in pickles is normal. Please visit question #12 on our FAQ page for more information: https://www.krautsource.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions
Thank you,
Kraut Source
Yes, sea salt is fine.
Best,
Karen
Chief Fermentation Officer
Kraut Source
I used standard quality sea salt. Do you think my cakes will still pickle?
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Kraut Source
October 04, 2021
@sheryl ludwig: The contents should always be submerged beneath the brine to prevent exposure to oxygen. If you have lost brine, you should prepare new brine and refill the jar so that the top of the cucumbers are covered by 1 inch of the brine and then continue with the fermentation.
If you see slight fuzzy matter growing on the brine, you should open the jar, scrape away the fuzz, and replenish with new salt brine to cover the top of the cucumbers by 1 inch. If the fuzz has grown to be lumpy and putrid-smelling, that’s your cue to compost and start over.
Thank you,
Kraut Source