[Photographs: Vicky Wasik]
These classic dill pickles get their characteristic tangy flavor through good old-fashioned lacto-fermentation. Simply make a saltwater brine, submerge the cucumbers in it with herbs and spices, then let the wonderful world of friendly microbes take over. As they eat the natural sugars in the cucumbers, they’ll produce lactic acid, which will make the pickles nice and sour and perfectly preserved for longer-term storage.
The fermented cucumber pickle developed in the Baltic region and was exported throughout Eastern Europe, eventually evolving into the American versions of full-sours, half-sours, Jewish pickles. Fermentation times and spicing determine what kind you make. Half-sours, for example, are fermented for less time than full-sours.
Adapted from a recipe by Marcin Filutowicz, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Published at Mon, 28 Aug 2017 07:42:00 +0000
