Pickled gherkins are very well known in northern and eastern Germany. These are cucumbers that are preserved by lactic acid fermentation. With the right instructions, you can also pickle cucumbers this way.
Salted cucumbers can be seasoned to taste
The manufacture of salted cucumbers
You need fresh and firm pickling cucumbers. Either you harvest the cucumbers from your own cultivation or you buy the required amount at harvest time at the weekly market.
When preparing salted cucumbers, one does not speak of canning or preserving, since the cucumbers are not cooked with this type of preservation. The preservation takes place through a special kind of fermentation process.
- Thoroughly clean the cucumbers, preferably with a vegetable brush.
- You can soak the cucumbers in a little salt overnight and then rinse with water before using. However, this step is not absolutely necessary.
- Poke holes in the cucumbers with a toothpick and place in large clean jars or stone barrels.
- Now you can add all the other ingredients. Depending on your taste, the following ingredients are suitable:
- dill
- horseradish
- garlic
- pepper and allspice corns
- bay and/or vine leaves
- Prepare a mild brine with 100 g of salt and boil it up once.
- Pour the cooled brine over the cucumbers.
In the jar or barrel, the cucumbers are now covered with a previously boiled cotton cloth and weighed down with a stone or piece of wood that has also been sterilized. It is important that the cucumbers are constantly covered by the brine. Now cover the container and store it at room temperature. The pot must not be sealed airtight so that the gases produced during the fermentation process can escape.
After some time, lactic acid fermentation begins. You can speed up this process by placing a piece of bread on the cloth in the barrel or jar. If you bake bread regularly, you can also add some sourdough.
Fermentation generally lasts about six weeks. The result is a mildly salted, slightly sour cucumber that contains a lot of vitamin C due to the special fermentation process. If you want to take the cucumbers out of their container, use clean tongs, because this way bacteria don't stand a chance.