Choosing Quality Cucumbers for Fermentation
I suggest using one of three types of cucumbers when making fermented cucumbers. First, English cucumbers, the long cucumbers normally sold tightly wrapped in plastic, work well. The second is pickling; these are the shorter, bumpy, lighter green cucumbers. Third is the Persian cucumber (my favorite), also known as teeny tiny or cocktail cucumbers.
Do not use slicing cucumbers for fermentation. These are very smooth, dark green cucumbers. They’re usually fat and long. Most slicing cucumbers will turn into a soggy mess through the fermentation process. Slicing cucumbers are also normally wax-coated, which disrupts the fermentation process.
Here’s my checklist for choosing good cucumbers:
- Density: The cucumber should feel heavy, like it is hydrated and has turgor pressure. It should not feel hollow, like yellow squash, if you tap your finger against it.
- Check for surface mold: Look for indentations and soft spots in the cucumbers. You do not want to buy a squishy cucumber. Cucumbers near molding will have dark, small, circular indentations or black “pocks” on the surface.
- Small is Better: The bigger the diameter of the cucumber, the soggier your pickles will be. For English cucumbers, look for one with a smaller diameter. If you are buying pickling cucumbers, go for the smaller, daintier ones. If you can find cocktail cucumbers, they will work fantastically.
- Color: Pickling cucumbers should be predominantly green with streaks of yellowish-green. English cucumbers should be a solid medium green color.
Fermenting Sliced Cucumbers Two Ways
How you slice cucumbers impacts how the pickles hold up during fermentation. You should always remove the ends of cucumbers and not include the ends in the fermentation. The blossom end of cucumbers contains enzymes that can soften the cucumbers.
It’s also vital to remove the seeds of large (I’m just going to say it, girthy) cucumbers. Mature, overgrown cucumbers have broad seed cavities with lots of enzymes, high water content, and weak cell structures. When exposed to salt, the watery centers lack the structural integrity needed to stay firm and physically break down, leaving the pickle hollow or soft from the inside out.
So if you have a bigger, mature cuke, you need to scoop out those seeds. Mature cucumbers with bigger seed cavities are probably the number one reason our readers end up with soggy pickles.
There are two slicing techniques I recommend when fermenting cucumbers into pickles. For pickle chips, a ripple-cut pickle holds up better than a straight-sliced pickle. You can get a cheap and simple ripple cutter by clicking here. I also suggest fermenting pickle spears or halves, which hold up even better than pickle chip slices. Spears and halves can be cut with a regular knife.
The Benefits of Fermented Cucumbers
Have you ever heard of GABA? It stands for Gamma-aminobutyric acid. It is a naturally occurring, non-protein amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in your brain. GABA is studied and produced for its multitude of benefits:
- relieving anxiety
- improving mood
- inhibition of cancer cell proliferation
- reducing symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- aiding in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment
- lean muscle growth
- stabilizing blood pressure
- relieving muscle pain
Well, it turns out that microorganisms produce GABA in multitudes during the lactic acid fermentation of vegetables! This is especially true in fermented cucumbers.
Biologically synthesized GABA is more usable by the human body than chemically synthesized GABA. So if you need a mental wellness boost, try eating some fermented cucumbers.
Probiotic Bacteria in Fermented Cucumbers
Cucumbers naturally have a lot of Lactobacillus plantarum on their surface. This abundance of Lactobacillus makes fermented pickles excellent for gut health. It also makes cucumbers ferment a little faster than other vegetables. While cabbage takes four weeks to ferment, pickles take about two weeks. You can ferment pickles for four weeks for extra sour flavor, if you like, but they may get softer the longer they ferment at room temperature.
Preventing Sogginess When Fermenting Sliced Cucumbers
To help prevent sogginess, start with cold cucumbers and a 3.5% total salt concentration. The most important thing you can do to keep your fermented pickles crisp is to use at least 3.5% total salt.
You can add bay leaves, sencha green tea, and grape leaves for tannins. You can also try adding calcium chloride salt to pickles, which is very effective at keeping things crunchy. (Some sources of calcium chloride are natural from limestone… and some are chemically produced. I suggest researching this salt and deciding if you’d like it in your food).
Don’t forget, as mentioned above, how you slice your cucumber matters. Stick to ripple cuts or spears/halves for the best results.
If you still end up with pickles that just are not as crisp as you want, use them to make some delicious Fermented Pickle de Gallo!
Preventing Spices from Floating
If using dry spices in pickles, you can easily stop the spices from floating at causing issues. Put the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or a tea bag and tightly tie it closed.
Nestle the little spice pouch at the bottom of the jar, under the cucumbers. You will still get all the flavor from the spices without anything floating.
Fermented Cucumbers and Mold
By following directions, you should not encounter this problem. Note that most vegetables that are actually fruits (anything that grows from a blossom) can have pellicle growth. This is normal for vegetables that are also fruits as long as it does not look furry, pink, blue, black, green, or magenta.
A safe pickle pellicle is normally opaque, off-white, and crinkly. If you have surface growth like this, it’s a harmless mixed colony of wild yeasts. It’s not “mold”…you can skim it off the top and still eat your pickles. See the two pictures below as a reference for what a normal pickle pellicle looks like.
What Should My Fermented Cucumbers Smell and Look Like?
As always, I tracked these pickles through the whole fermentation process, so I can tell you all about the sensory cues to watch for as they ferment! This timeline is for pickles fermented at 72-78 degrees F. The process will be slower in colder conditions and faster in warmer conditions, but will follow the same pattern.
24 – 72 hours: All contents in the jar should be submerged beneath the brine. The brine will be pretty clear at first, and will start to get a bit murky. You’ll see little bubbles forming in between the pickle slices. There won’t be a ton of bubbles until about day 4, though. (This is stage one of fermentation, and there’s not much going on that you can see)
72 hours – 7 days: After 72 hours, you should start to see lots of bubbles. You need to burp the jar if you are using a rust-proof mason jar lid (as I recommend). Cucumbers in this stage should change color from vibrant green to pale olive. You will also notice the brine becomes very cloudy. Leuconostoc bacteria begin to thrive, producing lots of carbon dioxide and acetic acid. You can open the jar whenever to ensure everything is submerged and the lid stays clean. If anything is floating to the surface, scoop it out with a clean spoon. If the lid looks dirty at all, wash it with hot, soapy water, then place it back on the jar.
7 – 12 days: Bubbles in the brine will decrease as the ferment leaves stage two and enters stage three of fermentation. The brine will be quite cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. You’ll probably start to see sediment at the bottom of the jar, and the bubbles will stop completely. Lactobacillus species are most abundant.
12 – 14 days: Lactobacillus makes up the majority or all of the microbial population now. They produce copious amounts of lactic acid, making the pickles smell even more pleasantly sour. At this time, you can smell, taste, and refrigerate! The pickles should have a pH of 4 or below. They are now super probiotic and well preserved.
What if my fermented pickles are too salty?
If these fermented pickles are too salty for your taste buds, it’s an easy fix! Pour off half the brine into an empty jar and top off the pickles with apple cider vinegar. Shake to combine. This will dilute the saltiness and add a lovely vinegar flavor. And don’t worry, vinegar does not kill the acid-tolerant probiotic microbes in the pickles. Be sure to save the brine to make my probiotic pickled garlic or probiotic pickled onions.
Fermented Cucumbers: Fermenting Sliced Cucumbers Two Ways
Tired of soggy fermented pickles? This fermented cucumbers recipe makes it easy to ferment crunchy and crisp pickles. Learn the best techniques for fermenting sliced cucumbers ready to eat in just two weeks!
- Prep: 20 minutes
- ferment: 2 weeks
Ingredients
- 460 grams cucumbers
- 320 grams water
- 28 grams sea salt
- 20 grams shallot, minced
- Fresh dill
- 1 thyme sprig
- 3 teaspoons pickle spices*
Instructions
- Please see the recipe notes before you begin.
- Wash all of your fermentation equipment (jar, weight and lid)
- Wash your cucumbers in cool water.
- Slice your cucumbers either as ripple cut chips or as spears/halves. Remove and discard the cucumber ends.
- Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.
- Weigh out the designated amounts of all your ingredients.
- Add everything to the mason jar. (It helps if you put anything cut small, like shallots, below the cucumbers to keep them from floating)
- Add in any spices (If using dry spices, you can avoid them floating to the surface. Place the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or tea bag and tie it closed. Nestle the little spice pouch at the bottom the the jar, under the cucumbers. By doing this, you will still get all the flavor from the spices, without anything floating.)
- Place the lid on the jar, and secure. Shake the jar vigorously for 2 minutes to dissolve all the salt.
- Remove the lid. Place your clean fermentation weight in the jar, making sure to submerge the cucumber pieces and weight fully in the liquid.
- Secure the lid to the jar (you don’t need to significantly tighten it; just close it).
- Let the cucumbers ferment for 14 days at room temperature. Set the jar in a glass dish to catch any spills.
- If you tighten the lid a lot, you should burp the jar daily when it is bubbling. It also helps to open up the jar daily to rinse the lid clean and re-submerge or scoop out any floating bits.
- After 2 weeks, remove the fermentation weight and smell and taste test. Your fermented pickles should smell pleasantly sour and taste tart and salty! (if it’s warmer in your kitchen you can taste test around 10 days).
- Too salty for you? Pour off half the brine into an empty jar and top off the pickles with apple cider vinegar! Shake to combine. Save the brine to make my probiotic pickled garlic or probiotic pickled onions.
- Store in the fridge. Please leave a review below if you love this fermented pickle recipe!
Notes
- Pickling, Persian, or cocktail cucumbers work best. Make sure they are small-diameter. Cucumber recommendations are in the first paragraph of this blog post.
- If your cucumbers have large seed cavities, scoop out the seeds and cut into spears.
- The timeline is adjustable based on temperature. Fermentation is faster at warm temperatures. You can taste test at 10 days and see how you like them.
- This recipe at 1x is for a 32- ounce jar.
- You can use fresh herbs only, or dry spices only, or a combination of both. CLICK HERE for My Easy Homemade Dill Pickle Spice Blend Recipe
- You can add other spices like allspice or clove for sweeter flavor profiles, or chili flakes for spice.
References
Production of GABA by Microorganisms
Formation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) during the natural lactic acid fermentation of cucumber
Hi Kaitlynn,
I’ve been making your fermented cucumbers for 3 years now and never had any issues. In fact, they come out so delicious, they disappear out of the jars instantly. So thank you!
This is the first time in 3 years that I noticed lack of activity in one of the jars. And today I discovered a whitish translucent gelatinous blob on the top attached to the glass weight. The contents of the jar do not smell gross, but they do not smell quite right also. Not spoilt, but just not like the rest of the jars. I discarded the gelatinous blob and swapped out the glass weight for a new sterilized one.
My best guess, because there was lack of activity in this jar before the whitish translucent gelatinous blob appeared, is that there was too much salt. It is possible that I overfilled the jar and some water (but not salt spilled out when I tried to tighten the lid). Is it possible to put too much salt and have undesirable bacteria grow instead of the beneficial one?
Do you have any clues as to what this could be? The jar has until 8.12 to stay on the counter.
did you change anything? Such as using different cucumbers, or sourcing them from a different place? I cant really tell you if its safe or what it just from a description.
Hi Kaitlynn
On my first batch I miscalculated the salt and looks like I did double to water ratio, would that be safe to use even if rather salty?
It should still ferment well and be safe. Better to have too much salt than too little! After it’s finished, dump off 3/4th of the brine and top with apple cider vinegar to cut the saltiness.
Thank you for the recipe! I just tried my first batch. The taste is good I hink, but the fleshy part of the pickle is pretty soggy. The flesh close to the skin is crunchy. All my jars had cam yeast too. What do I need to do differently?
You’re welcome! What kind of cucumbers did you use? and what kind of jar/lid. If you had kahm yeast that probably caused the texture problem. Kahm yeast is usually caused by conventionally grown vegetables and not keeping the lid clean.
I used this recipe to this summer and last.
I love how easy and quick it is! They come out great every time I make them!
love the content. Two things on this recipe. I did weight everything out. and the brine did not cover my cucumbers, strange. I used a different jar, so I ended up making another solution of the same ratio of salt to water and just filled it up. secondly my ferment does not bubble. I am sure it will be fine, but i wonder what is up ?
I tried this and added mustard seeds instead of dill. I have just opened my jar after 3-4? weeks. They looked beautiful. The smell is not pungent but when I tried them, they are mega salty. Not sure if I got the ratio wrong or if its meant to be salty. Certainly not vinegary.
Thanks for trying the recipe! Have you ever been swimming in the ocean? These pickles are no saltier than seawater… or brined olives… or half sour deli pickles. They aren’t supposed to taste like vinegar, because there’s no vinegar in this recipe. The microbes produce Lactic acid, not vinegar.
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I’m wondering if I use a traditional paper teabag for the spice mix, is it possible it will disintegrate inside the jar during the fermentation process?
should work fine!
Hi Kaitlynn – I love this recipe (and your sauerkraut recipes too!) However every time I’ve made this (4x now), I never have enough brine even though I’ve followed the recipe to a T. I must be doing something wrong! I’ve been adding more brine with the same ratio water:salt as the recipe but is that ok since I’m not adding more pickles? Thank you for the great recipes 🙂
What kind of jar are you using? could be something to do with the jar dimensions. if you need to add more brine, dissolve 35 grams of salt in 1000 mL of water for a 3.5% brine solution.
I was wondering about the jars as well – so far I’ve used the 1L tulip shape Weck jar and the 1L straight Weck jar. I was also wondering if I’m leaving the pickles too big? Anyway, I will follow the amounts you’ve given for extra brine next time. Thank you so much for your response!!
New to this and learning. Your recommendation of 35grams of salt to 1000ml of water is for topping off brine only? Your recipes use 3.5% of total weight of cukes and water. Just making sure I when this ratio is used. Thx!!
Yeah, all my vegetable ferment recipes use a total salt concentration, so that’s a % of the total weight (all fresh veg + water). If you want to add more water, you have to add more salt. If you add a 3.5% brine the total salt concentration is still 3.5%
So good, so very good! Love the spice miix, too. I do have a question, I made 2 quart jars at the same time. Measured everything separately. One jar had a cloudier brine at the end of 14 days; however, over the course of about 2 weeks in the fridge, it has cleared some. There is no sign of any growth, both jars have the same smell. They both also have some white sediment in the bottom of the jars. Would this be considered normal? I see the photos for this recipe show varying grads of cloudiness.
Thanks for all you do!
perfectly normal! The cloudiness is microbes growing in the brine, so you want to see that. Once you put it in the fridge, the cloudiness settles in the bottom as sediment.
So you wouldn’t suggest using the silicone pickle “pipe”? I’m afraid I’ll forget to burp it! I bought them before researching them at all… can you explain why you don’t recommend them?
Hi there! I plan to try this but was wondering since I love me some super sour pickles am I able to add vinegar? I understand the longer fermentation the more sour but if adding a little vinegar would mess with the process? Thanks!
Hey! Just follow the recipe as written, then when it’s done, remove a little brine and add some vinegar. I do this all the time!
This recipe was incredibly easy to follow, and the precision in the method presented gave me confidence in the outcome. I had wonderful results, first try! Perfectly sour, crunchy fermented pickles! I tried a jar of each different cut. My kids preferred the spears, but the ripple cut chips are going pretty quickly too!
I already need to get more on the go! Thank you so much!
We made these with Persian cucumbers and they turned out great! Great crunch and flavor, the kids love them.
Loved this recipe! So easy to follow and made the tastiest pickles. I’m currently making four more jars – they were that good. Any suggestions for how much chili flakes to make a spicy version?
I would say start with a teaspoon or two. glad you love the recipe, and thank you for leaving a review!
Hi. When preparing the recipe I thought the salt levels were much higher than I have used in fermented hot sauce recipes I have done very successfully. Sure enough the ferment kicked off nicely but when tasting the cucumbers after two weeks they were beyond salty and unpalatable. I see no comments or references to salty taste in ratings. I will try again but with brine levels I have used in fermented sauce recipes. Instead. 28g salt in only 325g water seems extremely high to me. Any thoughts and comments welcome. Thanks
Its a 3.5% total salt concentration. Not overly salty, tastes great, and keeps the pickles crisp. If you’ve ever been swimming in the ocean and tasted the water, it’s no saltier than that. Ever tried brined olives? These pickles are slightly less salty than that. Total salt concentration is (vegetable weight + water weight) x 3.5%
How one perceives salty taste is greatly dependent on how much salt one eats, and therefore is different for everyone. “beyond salty and unpalatable” is how you individually taste salt and is not a universal experience.
I read this recipe thoroughly and I appreciate the effort made to provide weight measurements in grams. However I do not see a weight measurement for the fresh dill. Please advise. I am also planning to scale this recipe for 3 bushels of pickling cucumbers in two 11 gallon brown plastic kimchi tubs. Please let me know what you think.
Fresh dill doesn’t add anything significant to the water activity, so it doesn’t need to be factored into the total salt concentration. That’s why I don’t weigh it. It’s kinda a flavor preference thing, if you really like dill add a bunch. Scaling the recipe should work great. You can also check out this blog post The Complete Guide to Salt Fermentation and this blog The Perfect Lacto Fermentation Salt Ratio for Fermenting Vegetables and those can help you understand how to measure ingredients and salt for any batch size.
This is my first time fermenting, and I’m so incredibly pleased with how these turned out, thanks to your amazing instructions. Looking forward to making more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge.
I made this recipe, going on day three, used small cucumbers. Somehow I was understanding the salt ratio was in relevance to the water, now after reading your other tips/ articles is the total if veg+water. I basically made a brine solution of water + 3.5% of salt and pour it in the jar filled with arrange cucumber, spices and herbs, shallots and garlic.
yep, because cucumbers are 96% water. All my fermentation recipes are always weight of vegetables AND water then multiply by optimal salt concentration.
Hello! I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s so good, I thought” I can’t wait for summer so I can grow my own pickles! Well-fast forward and my pickles are lousy! They are Kirby’s, but the whole plant is producing pickles that are a yellow color. They taste ok, but have thicker skin. Should I try it? Thanks-carol
I would use those cucumbers for a relish instead! That way texture isn’t a huge deal! try this recipe Green Onion Kimchi Inspired Fermented Relish
Hello! I had enough cucumbers, by weight, for three jars. I made a salt water brine instead of your shaking method. But ultimately, the cucumbers fit into two 32 oz jars. I used all but 1/4-1/5 of the brine. Salt: water ratio correct at least. Are my pickles jeopardized due to incorrect cucumber : brine ratio? Thanks!
hmm… I feel like they should be fine. leaving out a little brine shouldn’t change the salt concentration tooooo much as long as you still used all the same amounts in the recipe.