Ingredients:
· Small pickling size cucumbers
· 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
· 2-3 heads of fresh dill, rinsed clean
· Non-processed kosher salt (Diamond Crystal, if you can find it)
· Non-Chlorinated Water
· 3-4 grape leaves
You will need to choose one of the three salt brine ratios below:
· A low salt brine ratio for 1.8% brine solution is 1 TBSP salt dissolved in 1 Quart of water.
· A medium salt brine would be 3.6% brine solution of 2 TBSP salt dissolved in 1 Quart of water.
· A high salt brine ratio for hot weather fermenting is 5.4% brine of 3 TBSP salt dissolved in 1 Quart of water.
Method:
1. Wash the cucumbers with water and vinegar.
2. Soak the cucumbers in ice water for a few hours unless they were just picked fresh from the vine.
3. Place the garlic cloves, dill and grape leaves in the bottom of a clean/sanitized fermenting crock. Remove the cucumbers from the ice water and place them on top of the garlic, dill and leaves.
4. Choose the level of salt brine referenced above the list of ingredients. Stir the salt into the water to make a brine. Pour the brine over the cucumbers in the crock until the cucumbers are completely covered.
5. Place a clean weight on top to hold the cucumbers under the brine level and cover.
6. Sit the crock out of direct sunlight at room temperature and allow to ferment for 1-4 weeks. In the first week you should start to see bubbles appearing in the brine which means fermentation is occurring. You can start eating them after a week but they get more delicious the longer they ferment. After 3-4 weeks, the brine will start to look cloudy. To slow the process of fermentation, store the crock pickles in the refrigerator.
7. While fermenting, check the pickles occasionally to ensure there is no mold growing. If mold starts to grow, remove it immediately!
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