spicy dill cucumbers.

Sour, briny, spicy cucumber pickles. Use on charcuterie boards, sandwiches, burgers, dressings, sides, etc.

Inexpensive and taste better than store-bought, better to experiment with your preferred spices, different vegetables and aromatics. This serves as an introduction into fermenting foods as it helps you understand the transformation of food through the fermentation process.

Cucumbers, subtle in taste and aroma but through pickling you can easily illustrate how the fermentation process affects vegetables and the threshold/upper limits of flavor that a relatively flavorless vegetables can have.

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 pickling cucumbers.

  • kosher salt.

  • filtered water.

  • 1 bunch dill.

  • 1 tsp coriander seed.

  • 1 star anise.

  • 1 tsp all spice berries.

  • 1 tsp black peppercorns.

  • 4 garlic cloves.

  • 2 amarillo/habanero/scotch bonnet/serrano chili.

  • 1 tbsp raw honey.

  • kosher salt.

Equipment:

  • sterile jar.

  • plastic wrap/fermentation weights.

  • scale.

  • whisk.

  • small sauté pan.

Yield:

  • 8-10 fermented cucumbers.

Execution:

  1. ferment.

  • Toast the coriander seeds, star anise, allspice berries, and black peppercorns in a small sauté pan until they become aromatic, and wisps of smoke start to emerge from the spices.

  • Position the sterilized jar on a scale and calibrate it to zero. Add the cucumbers, chilies, garlic and spices to the jar, and pour in enough water to just barely cover them. Record this weight.

  • Empty the water into a small mixing bowl, then incorporate 3% of the combined weight of everything in salt. Add honey and whisk thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved.

  • Pour the salt brine over the cucumbers.

  • Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cucumbers and brine. This creates an anerobic environment to prevent mold from growing. Optionally, you can use fermenting weights to keep the ingredients submerged in the brine.

  • Cover the jar with the lid, but don't tighten it excessively, as this could lead to the buildup of gases within the container, potentially causing it to rupture.

  • Position the jar in an environment maintained at around 70-75°F, away from direct sunlight. Allow it to ferment for a period of 10-14 days. Be sure to inspect the pickles daily to ensure that the fermentation is progressing well and no mold is developing. Continuously taste the pickles to monitor the progress of the fermentation.

  • Once the pickles have reached the desired level of sourness and acidity, transfer them to the refrigerator and consume them within around 6 months