Ferment Your Own Pickles At Home

Gut health has been having a serious moment in 2021, and we’re all about it! We know that your gut influences so many other functions of your body, to the point where it’s often called the second brain

Keeping your gut microbiome happy is key, and to do that you need to nourish it with lots of prebiotic and probiotic foods. Prebiotic foods are high fibre foods that feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut. Probiotic foods contain live beneficial bacteria that grow during the fermentation process. Introducing these beneficial bacteria in your gut microbiome helps keep the bad guys (the harmful bacteria) in check so everything stays balanced and happy.

Fermentation can seem like a scary and complex process, but it’s actually quite simple to do yourself at home! All you need is a mason jar and the ingredients listed below to start your own at home fermentation station. This is a fun one to do with the kids too as it is exciting when you first start to see bubbles which indicates that the good bacteria are getting to work!

Let us know how your very own homemade fermented pickles go in the comments below.

Ingredients:

• 2 continental cucumbers (mini pickling cucumbers if you can find them)
• Fresh dill
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 6-8 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink fine salt
• 4 bay leaves

Method:

1. Place cucumbers into an ice bath to firm up for 20 minutes then cut into 1cm slices
2. Mix salt and 2 ½ cups of filtered water until salt has dissolved to make saltwater brine (If you don’t have filtered water, you can boil tap water for 15 minutes to remove chlorine)
3. In a large jar, layer black peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, garlic, and dill into the bottom
4. Place cucumbers into jar, pressing down firmly
5. Layer more dill into any gaps and slide bay leaves down the sides of jar
6. Pour in the saltwater brine making sure to completely immerse all cucumbers
7. Screw lid on loosely to allow gasses to escape during the fermentation process (you may need to ‘burp’ the jar daily to allow gases to escape)
8. Store your pickles in a cool, dark place while they ferment
9. After 3 days, the brine should be cloudy and have bubbles – this is a good thing, it means there is life and that the good bacteria are working their magic
10. You can ferment for longer if you prefer a sourer pickle, but no matter how long you leave them refrigerate before you eat them
11. Enjoy your gut-loving, fermented dill pickles!

Tip: Once placed in the fridge, the fermentation process slows significantly but doesn’t stop all together. The longer you leave them in the fridge, the more sour they will get. If you don’t like super sour pickles, it’s best to eat your pickles ASAP or maybe halve the batch so you can get through them all before they ferment for too long.

Keen for more recipes? Keep up with the latest over on WholeLife’s Instagram here or browse our other recipes here!