{"id":2587,"date":"2021-08-18T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reversingdiabetes.xyz\/blog\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2021-08-04T09:20:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T13:20:06","slug":"old-fashioned-garlic-dill-pickle-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reversingdiabetes.xyz\/blog\/old-fashioned-garlic-dill-pickle-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"old fashioned garlic dill pickle recipe (fermented)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I was never a huge fan of dill pickles, but my fondness for both Amanda’s Big Mac salad<\/a> and my Reuben RBS<\/a> has had me going through a heck of a lot more than I ever have before. I made a couple gallons last year and ran out!<\/p>\n

Of course, you can use any dill pickles in these salad recipes, but I strongly prefer fermented pickles for the probiotic benefits. You can identify fermented pickles in the grocery because they will be in the refrigerator section – if they’re closed tight and still fermenting, they’d explode! Additionally, they won’t have vinegar as an ingredient. Finally, they won’t be pasteurized as that kills all the probiotics.<\/p>\n

When I ran out of my own pickles, I bought Ba Tampte brand garlic dill pickles at my Wegmans.<\/p>\n

But I prefer my own homemade ones, made from organic cucumbers bought in a bulk from my favorite local farmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fermentation Equipment<\/h4>\n
<\/a>my fermentation kit<\/a> (affiliate link)<\/div>\n

There’s a number of ways that you can ferment. Historically, it was done in a large crock, with the vegetables submerged under an appropriate brine and held done by a weight. In my experience, sometimes this works, and sometimes you get a moldy mess.<\/p>\n

I feel that as far as moldy cukes go: ain’t nobody got time for that!<\/p>\n

The ideal fermentation requires an airlock, so that mold spores and outside bacteria can’t touch the cucumbers, while allowing the gases produced by fermentation to escape. I use the kit shown to the right, which fits any wide-mouth canning jar.<\/p>\n

<\/a>wide mouth half gallon jars<\/a> (affiliate link)<\/div>\n

Unfortunately, the half gallons are a tad expensive; I have 6 and guard them closely! I can’t find any actual gallon jars that fit wide-mouth canning lids, so stick to the half gallons.<\/p>\n

hint<\/h4>\n

The recipe itself is pretty simple, though I suggest not following the (very bad) photo; it was a tad tricky to extract those whole cucumbers for storage in different jars (necessary so I could use my limited half gallons for more ferments). This year, instead I cut the cucumbers into spears so they’d be easier to extract.<\/p>\n

Safe Brining<\/h4>\n

Regardless of the fermentation system you choose to use, the most important bit is having an appropriate brine. The right level of salt allows the beneficial lacto-bacteria to grow while preventing inappropriate bacteria from growing.<\/p>\n

For dill pickles, I use a 5% brine. The volume of salt required depends on the type of salt you are using, as the size of the grains can vary. (Note:<\/b> iodized salt is not recommended for pickling). Rather than try to figure out exactly how much you should measure by volume, it is simpler to weigh the salt.<\/p>\n

The water used is critical also; chlorinated water may well kill off the lacto-bacteria necessary to do the fermentation. A standard Brita filter will remove the chlorine.<\/p>\n

GARLIC DILL PICKLES – Makes two 1\/2 gallons.<\/h3>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/h4>\n