Choosing Quality Cucumbers for Fermentation
I suggest using one of three types of cucumbers when making these dill and horseradish pickles. First, English cucumbers, the long cucumbers normally sold tightly wrapped in plastic, work well. The second is pickling cukes; 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.
Crisp, Fermented Horseradish Pickles
How you slice cucumbers impacts how the horseradish pickles will 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.
There are two slicing techniques I recommend when fermenting any sort of 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 tend to hold up even better than pickle chip slices. Spears and halves can be cut with a regular knife.
Preventing Sogginess in Fermented Pickles
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. That’s what the recipe calls for, so just follow it as written.
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 for yourself 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 aren’t as crisp as you’d like, use them to make delicious Fermented Pickle de Gallo!
What Type of Horseradish to Use
I have to be honest, I’ve never bought, grown, or used fresh horseradish before. So I can’t really recommend it in this recipe. I went for prepared horseradish, Bubbies brand. And it worked wonderfully. I also use prepared horseradish to make steak horseradish sauce with sour cream, so I’m not going to waste it.
If you decide to use fresh horseradish in this recipe and want to share your experience, let us know how it goes in the comments!
Horseradish Pickles Fermentation Timeline
We tracked our horseradish pickles throughout fermentation. If you follow our recipe and directions, your timeline should match ours approximately. This timeline is for pickles fermented at 72-78 degrees F. The process will be slower in colder conditions and faster in warmer conditions.
24 – 72 hours: All contents in the jar should be submerged beneath the brine. At this time, Gram-negative bacteria and potential pathogens remain present.
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 standard mason jar and lid. 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 large amounts of carbon dioxide and acetic acid. Gram-negative organisms die off during this time.
7 – 12 days: Bubbles in the brine will decrease as the ferment leaves stage two and enters stage three. The mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time period.
12 – 14 days: Lactobacillus makes up the majority or all of the microbial population. They produce copious amounts of lactic acid, making the horseradish pickles smell even more pleasantly sour. At this time, you can smell, taste, and refrigerate.
What if my horseradish 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.
Things You May Need:
Fermented Dill and Horseradish Pickles
These are possibly the best pickles I’ve ever fermented. Maybe I’m biased because I love horseradish. If you do too you must try these fermented horseradish pickles!
- Prep: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 336 hours 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 460 grams cucumbers*
- 320 grams water
- 28 grams sea salt
- 1 fresh dill sprig
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
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 garlic and horseradish, below the cucumbers to keep them from floating)
- Place the lid on the jar, and secure it. 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 tighten it too much; just close it).
- Let the horseradish pickles 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 horseradish 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 five-star rating below if you love this pickle recipe!
Notes
- 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.
- Pickling, Persian, or cocktail cucumbers work best. Cucumber recommendations are in the first paragraph of this blog post.
Mizz Kaitlynn,
Please pardon this question from one who has been out of high school chemistry for more than a half-century, but what is the calculation for total salt concentration? I had thought that it was weight-of-salt divided by weight-of-water, but that doesn’t seem to work here.
Thanks,
Joe
I opted for the vinegar wash at the end of this recipe and it was SO good. Would have never thought to add horseradish to my pickling liquid.
This was my first time fermenting pickles! Yum! Such a fun food experiment. I love the spicy twist with horseradish.