Fermenting pickles
I'm new on pickles fermentation without vinager, last week I put three jars with different recipes I found over internet and it said to leave it outside the refrigerator for one up to four weeks and to check every week. So today I checked for the first time and two out of the three jars the pickles were very soft that I couldn't hold them as they torned apart. The other jar was apparently fine. Can somebody know what happened}? Any advice, thanks in advanced.
Note: I'm located in Mexico and currently the weather is so hot around 90-100 F degrees.
Best Answer
If temperatures are above 90, your pickles will probably be ready in a day, two at most. Any more time is just going to cook them, like you've experienced (where they're so soft you can't remove them from the jar). In any case, you definitely want to check on your pickles at least once a day, and keep them in a shady spot so they don't get quite so warm.
Note that I have never encountered a fermented pickle recipe that calls for anything longer than a week; or, to put it another way, if your pickles take more than a week, it's not warm enough yet for fermented pickles. (And it doesn't sound like this is a problem you're likely to have.)
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How long do you ferment pickles?
Store where the temperature is between 70 and 75 F for about 3 to 4 weeks while fermenting. Temperatures of 55 to 65 F are acceptable, but the fermentation will take 5 to 6 weeks. Avoid temperatures above 80 F, or pickles will become too soft during fermentation. Fermenting pickles cure slowly.What is the difference between fermenting and pickling?
An easy way to remember the difference between the two despite their overlap is that pickling involves putting food into an acidic brine to produce a sour flavor, whereas fermenting gives food a sour flavor without any added acid.Can pickles be fermented?
Are Pickles Fermented? Quick pickles are not fermented, but lacto-fermented pickles are fermented. Quick pickles, the most common type of pickle found in grocery stores, are not fermented because they use an acid, such as vinegar, in their pickling brine.Should you ferment pickles?
Fermenting cucumbers in a brine to make homemade pickles is my favorite way to use up excess cucumbers from the garden or the farmer's market. It's a quick and simple way to store and save up your cucumbers to eat them the rest of the year and they are very healthy too.Homemade Dill Pickles - How to Make Naturally Fermented Pickles
More answers regarding fermenting pickles
Answer 2
In addition to Marti's good advice about temperature, I've only had consistent success with Kirby cucumbers, also called (for good reasons) "pickling cucumbers". Raw Kirbies are very firm—even crispy. That lets them stand up to fermentation.
When I first tried pickling, I used slicing and English cucumbers—which left me sad and frustrated. I threw out so many batches for exactly the reason you mention: By the time they sour enough to enjoy, they were too soft to enjoy. They worked now and again, but probably less than 20% of the time.
Many pickle recipes also include one or more ingredients with tannins, which are supposed to help keep pickles firm. I normally used bay leaves. Other examples: black tea leaves, oak leaves, grape leaves,
Only Kirbies consistently give me firm pickles. As Marti mentioned, lower temperatures help too (I try for around 70 degrees); if you have a cellar, that might help. For me, using Kirbies and those cooler temps, 3-5 days yields half-sour pickles and 5-10 yields full sour.
Answer 3
An FAQ from the National Center for Home Food Preservation says,
Grape leaves contain a substance that inhibits the enzymes that make pickles soft. However, removing the blossom ends (the source of undesirable enzymes) will make the addition of grape leaves unnecessary.
I have had success with both of these different pieces of advice: completely removing the blossom end of the fruit and/or adding a grape leaf or two to a quart of pickles. Other tannin-rich leaves also work, like highbush cranberry and black currant.
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