Fermentation is a preservation method that dates back to early history. Laborers on the Great wall of China were given mixed fermented vegetables as part of their rations, Caesar's soldiers had pickles as a delicacy, and Cleopatra is thought to have consumed them as a treat. Today, 75% of U.S. households eat pickled products at least once a week. However, due to thier acidity, they are usually used in small amounts at meals or as an accent food and do not contribute significantly to the diet.

Fermentation is the anaerobic (without oxygen) or partially anaerobic breakdown of sugars. Vegetables are not usually thought of as sugary foods, but they contain adequate sugars for fermentation. During fermentation, naturally present bactetia break apart sugars to form acids. Successful fermentations require only sugar (in the plant) and microorganisms (also on the plant); however, to speed the formation of liquid, inhibit softening enzymes, and encourage bacteria that produce desirable flavors, salt is usually added. Some recipes also add acid (vinegar) which rapidly lowers the pH and discourages growth of undesirable bacteria.

Though pickling involves low human technology, the actual fermentation process is complex. If you are interested in reading about the rise and fall of various microorganism populations and the acids and flavors they produce in a pickling crock, see the book Food Preservation and Safety by VanGarde and Woodburn, 1994, referenced on the right side of the main web page.

Genuine Dill Cucumbers and Sauerkraut are the most commonly fermented household pickled products. Excellent quality can be made a home in small batches. Top flavor fermented vegetables require time. The best flavors develop at temperatures around 72 F (22 C) for cucumbers and 65 F (18 C) for sauerkraut over a 2.5 to 3 week period. At the end of the fermentation period, the vegetables and brine are placed in canning jars for a pasteruizing heat treatment which stops the fermentation (it would continue to produce off-flavors and eventually could use up the acids) and gives a strong vacuum seal which prevents mold growth.

Every year pickle recipes circulate that produce less than top quality pickles and sometimes safety questions. Fermentations produce safe foods if uncontaminated water is used.

See the section on old pickle recipes under Quick Pickles on the left side of the main web page for information about unsafe quick dill pickles.

This is a recipe from an old USDA bulletin 92, 1978. The processing times have been updated to comply with 1997 safety standards. It is excellent flavor and uses a whole bag of pickling cucumbers. Because this recipe is different than those of familiar quick pickles please read it all the way through before embarking.

20 lbs cucumbers, 3 to 6 inches long

3/4 cup whole mixed pickling spice

2 to 3 bunches fresh dill (about 30 heads)

2 ½ cups white vinegar

1 3/4 cups pickling salt

2 ½ gallons water

In a large sink, gently wash cucumbers to remove field dirt with cold water. Do not bruise. Remove any blossoms.

Use a 5-gallon food grade plastic pail (ask a restaurant for their pail that held catsup or mayo) or a traditional stone pickling crock for the fermentation container. You may need two containers for this entire recipe. The recipe can be halved or quartered to meet your needs. Place half the pickle spices and a layer of dill in the bottom of the container. Add whole cucumbers to within 4 inches of the top. Place a layer of dill and the remaining spices on top of cucumbers. Thoroughly mix the vinegar, salt, and water and pour over the cucumbers. If there is not enough of this liquid to be at least 2" over the cucumbers, make up more using the same proportions.

Put a glass pie plate or other heavy non-metal plate or lid on top of the cucumbers to hold them all under the liquid. If the plate is not heavy enough to keep them under, place a clean heavy non-metal object on top of the plate. (I use a rock that has been through the dishwasher for this.) Cover the crock loosely with plastic wrap under a clean cloth. Keep pickles in a cool room; 65 - 72 F degrees is ideal.

Check the crock daily and remove any skum and mold. Do not leave uncovered more than necessary and use clean utensils to remove skum so you are not introducing more molds. Do not stir the pickles. Skum and molds usually start forming in 3 to 5 days. Start tasting the cucumbers to see how the fermentation is progressing after 2 weeks.

In about 3 weeks, the cucumbers will have an olive-green color. Remove one from the crock, slice it and taste. The cross section should be entirely translucent; indicating brine has replaced the original air in the cells. The flavor should be that of a good dill pickle. If your fermentation room has been 50 - 60 F and the pickles do not taste acid enough, then the fermentation is not complete and you need to keep skimming it and checking it for another week or two. If you were not able to keep the crock in a room below 72 degrees, the fermentation may need to be stopped after only 2 weeks. These will not be top quality flavor pickles, but the flavor in these fast fermentations will only deteriorate as time goes on; stop them at their peak.

To halt the fermentation, the cucumbers must go through a heat treatment. Heat softens foods and pickles are not exception, so follow directions carefully to have the crispest, safe pickles possible.

Pack cucumbers into jars that have just been through the dishwasher. Leave them upside down in the racks until you are ready to fill each one. Add several heads of fresh dill to each jar. Bring the brine to a boil and pour over the cucumbers leaving ½ inch head space. If you run out of brine, make some fresh (1/2 cup salt, 4 cups vinegar, and 1 gal. water), and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts.

If you plan on displaying these pickles or entering them in a fair, you may wish to pack them in fresh brine as the fermentation brine will be cloudy, however the fermentation brine contains the excellent flavors of fermentation and using it results in a better flavor pickle. Note that the replacement brine you make at the end of the fermentation process has more vinegar than the original brine you made; this is because during fermentation acids were produced by microorganisms.

A friend of mine went to a potluck dinner at a grange. A woman in her late 80's tottered in carrying a plate of these pickles as her contribution. They were the best pickles my friend, a gourmet cook, had ever eaten. She didn't want to offend the woman by asking for a secret family recipe but really wanted to make these so got up the nerve to ask. Mrs. Christensen was thrilled to meet someone who wanted to make "real" sweet pickles and recited the recipe on the spot.

The brand of pickling spices you select will vary the flavor greatly. Some pickling spices have quite a few red peppers in them. I've made these with all types of spice mixes and they were always fine pickles. I usually slice in about 3 inches of fresh, peeled ginger root to make it similar to the pickles my mother made in the 1950s, but that is personal preference.

Read the entire recipe before starting as it is different from quick pickles. I use a 5-gallon plastic food grade container for the crock because it is lighter than ceramic crocks. These can be purchased from restaurants (old catsup or mayonnaise containers) for under $5. The best place to put the crock is in a cool, dark place around 65-75 degrees. I make them in a house without air conditioning or a basement so usually have a higher than ideal temperature and they do fine. Remember, kittens and mice are notorious for getting into pickle crocks; use a weighted cake cooling rack to cover the top if needed.

This recipe is a simple one for sweet pickles. If you are concerned about appearances, you would want to use one in which the sugar is added gradually over a period of days instead of all at once. Suddenly adding so much sugar does cause the cucumbers to shrivel. Since I serve these pickles chopped in potato salads, I don't mind.

Call a produce stand and ask when they are getting in pickling cucumbers. You want to start with ones that were picked fresh that day for top quality texture. (Note: Last year I did a batch to use up leftover cucumbers that had been picked 4 days earlier and they turned out fine.) If the cucumbers did not receive enough water during the summer, final pickle texture will also be poor.

Syrup

Pour boiling water over cucumbers in a large plastic bucket or ceramic pickle crock. Next morning drain the water and discard and pour another batch of boiling water over cucumbers. (The old original recipe states to do this for 4 mornings, but at the first sign of mold or slime I stop. I usually do it for at least 2 mornings if the weather is in the 80s. If you are pickling in a cool September you may be able to go for 4 mornings. If the weather is in the 90s, I take a fork and poke holes in the cucumbers to hasten the process and then only go for 2 mornings. All this procedure does is remove the cucumber flavor.)

On the 5th morning, cut cucumbers into chunks and return to the crock or plastic pail. Make the syrup and pour the boiling syrup over the cucumber chunks. (Depending on the size of the crock you may need to make several batches of syrup to cover all the chunks.)

Each morning for another 4 mornings, pour the syrup off and reheat to boiling and then pour it back over the cucumber chunks. (This is a sticky mess; plan to mop the floor daily. This brine does etch a mark in shiny metal on your stove so clean up spills quickly.)

On the last morning, pour off the syrup, bring to a boil, add the chunks and bring to a boil again. You can add green food coloring if you want a 1950s look. Put all into clean canning jars making sure the chunks are covered by syrup. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.