Published on 12, July, 2020
Good evening!
I made a cucumber pickle today. A salty one, not a vinegar pickle - those are the two main types.
Got a large cucumber, chopped in half, then chopped into biggish pieces and put in a 850ml fermenting jar. Added water, a tablespoon of rock salt, a sprinkling of dried dill and some peeled garlic cloves. Mixed it all and then pressed down the cucumbers with the glass weight that came with the jar, which pressed the water up to form a moat over the weight, then put the lid on.
The water moat helps to prevent the growth of mold, so I've read. Though I'm also ready to clean the glass weight regularly and skim off any mold that forms on the top of the water with a spoon, which is perfectly normal according to fermentation aficionado Sandor Ellix-Katz.
I bought the glass weight jar because buying a weight that fits whichever jar you have is more difficult, so I opted for a all-in-1 set instead. Also I've made a ferment in the past where I used a stone as a weight and some bits of cabbage managed to always sneak around and rise above it. So that's why I've done a cucumber pickle this time. As they're large pieces they're easier to keep submerged.
After 2 weeks of being kept at room temperature I've read I then need to move it to a fridge to stop the fermentation and help it have a longer life before going off.
So who else shares this interest?!
My late mother was very much into this.
Home made wine and gherkins.
I bought the seeds every year, we had several plantations throughout the garden. The gherkins, with dill, fennel, bread, cooled boiled water and other ingredients went into large jars.
She ate the gherkins throughout the winter.
Some lovely photos there.
That's interesting to add bread, there are a lot of different ways you can do it. Also very resourceful putting them in a used confectionery jar.
I think most people would be surprised how much more flavour there is in a homemade fermented food than in, for example, a jar of pickled onions or cabbage from a typical shop.
I think I've inherited many eccentric behaviours from my parents.
Back to the gherkins, we used the plastic jar from quality street and large glass jars.
She also believed in recycling rather than buying specific items. The sugar container on the table is a glass jar, which previously contained German pickled, barrel sauerkraut.
She kept letters and documents in the large metal tins from roses and quality street.
When she passed away, we found £11,000 In cash, under her bed, in the tin box from roses.
No, I never tried the homemade stuff. I bought the seeds, compost, fertiliser and did most of the gardening.