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3 jars of fermented gherkins
Angela Braun

Fermented gherkins

Small as they are, gherkins burst with flavour when fermented! Make this wonderful preserve with gherkins, a salt brine and a few herbs and spices.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Fermentation 5 days
Total Time 5 days 10 minutes
Course: Preserve
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • about 20 gherkins
  • 12 - 15 garlic cloves
  • 2 fresh dill flowers alternatively: 2 tbsp dill seeds
  • 2 tbsp peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 3 l water
  • 105 g salt
  • 5 - 10 tannic leaves for example from oak, wine, raspberry, currant or blackberry

Method
 

  1. Thoroughly wash the gherkins and remove the vines and blossom ends. The latter contain an enzyme that makes the preserved gherkins go mushy.
  2. Peel the garlic cloves and either press them slightly with the blade of a knife or cut them in half.
  3. Now, layer the gherkins, the garlic cloves, bay leaves and spices in one large or several small jars. If the gherkins are too large for your jars, cut them into slices or sticks.
  4. Prepare the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Stir the mixture until the salt has completely dissolved.
  5. Pour as much brine over the gherkins so that they are covered by it. Store the residual brine in the fridge.
  6. Cover the brine surface with the tannic leaves and put a weight on them to make sure that everything stays under the brine.
  7. Put the jar or jars on a baking tray or something similar and let everything ferment at 15 - 18 °C (60 - 65°F) in a place without direct sunlight for 4 - 7 days. Keep an eye on the jars and pour in some of the brine from the fridge if, during fermentation, too much brine flows out of the jar.
  8. After 4 - 5 days, the gherkins are half-sour, after 6 - 7 days they're full-sour. Taste them to test the flavour and either eat them right away or put them in a cool place (at best the fridge) to stop or rather slow down fermentation.
  9. You can store the jars in the aforementioned cool place for up to 1 year

Notes

As long as you stick to the salt ratio of 3.5 %, you can get creative with herbs and spices. Add, for example, coriander or dried chilli flakes or cut down the amount of garlic. You can also add onion rings.