So easy that my son can make them!
My boy, Jem calls himself a “cheeky fermenter”! He has been helping me pound sauerkraut ever since he could walk at 9 months old (yes, he was a VERY early walker!!). We would put on music and pound our cabbage to the beat. He decided at a very young age, that pickles were his favourite fermented food and has not strayed from that since.
Making fermented foods for your family can be so simple and so fast. So simple, that a seven-year old can do it. When kids are involved in growing, choosing and creating their own food, they are much more likely to eat it and try new things. Get your little ones involved. Jem would love your kids to try his pickle recipe!
Jem keeps his pickles simple. He does not like spice. If we use a pickling spice, we usually use Herbies Pickling Spice (purchase here). Jem picks out the little dried bird’s eye chillis, as they can add a lot of heat to your pickles.
You will need:
A vegetable peeler
A 1L glass jar
1 pkt of baby cucumbers
1 green tea bag or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf green tea (it will keep your pickles crunchy!)
Optional: 1 teaspoon of Herbies pickling spice (pick out the chillis if you don’t want spicy pickles.)You could also use 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds or a teaspoon of dill seeds if you prefer.
500ml of filtered water
A measuring jug
3 teaspoons of unrefined salt
What to do
Open your packet of cucumbers. With a vegetable peeler, gently peel each end of your cucumber. You just want to peel the ends where the stalk and flower are attached when it’s growing on the plant.
Place all your cucumbers into your glass jar.
Pull the paper tag off your green tea bag and pop your green tea bag into your jar. If you are using loose leaf green tea, you can add a teaspoon to your jar now.
Add a teaspoon of picking spice, mustard seeds or dill seeds to your jar. Don’t forget to pick out any chilli’s from your pickle mix if you don’t like spicy pickles!
In a measuring jug, pour 500ml of filtered water. I love Kangen water. (contact me to find out more about Kangen water)
Add three small teaspoons of salt to your measuring jug. Give it a stir to mix the salt into the water.
Pour your brine (salty water) over your cucumbers. The brine should cover up your cucumbers completely. If it doesn’t, top up your jar with some extra brine.
Set your jar of pickles aside in an out-of-the-way place such as a bench-top, pantry or cupboard.
You now need to give your cucumbers some time to ferment- this is how they will transform into pickles!
If the weather is warm, they may only need 1-2 weeks to ferment. In colder months, let them ferment for about 2-3 weeks. Check your pickles by opening the jar and pulling out a pickle. Cut it in half. If the pickle is olive green all the way through, it’s ready to eat. If it still has light patches in the middle, you could leave it to ferment for another couple of days (it’s still yummy though and you can eat them, they are just not completely fermented.)
Your liquid brine will turn a cloudy olive green colour- this is normal!
When your pickles are dark olive green all the way through, when you cut them to test, they are ready to eat. Pop them in the fridge where they will keep for another couple of weeks.
Congratulations, cheeky fermenter! You’ve made your very own, tummy-healthy pickles! Jem would be so proud!
I asked Jem how he likes to eat pickles.
Jem: “I like to eat them from my lunch box at school, on a veggie snack-plate for afternoon tea, or when you chop them in potato salad. Oh, I also like them with my dinner!”
How do you like to eat yours? Answer in the comments below. :-)
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