Pickles, Round One

This week my cucumber vines finally started producing.  Only five were ready (and I couldn't resist eating one), so I decided to try a little experiment with a tiny batch of counter top fermented half sour pickles to see how things go.  

Half sours have been one of my favorite types of pickle ever since I ate them in a deli in New York City several years ago.  Unfortunately, they are pretty scarce and expensive here in the south.  I am hoping if this batch goes well, I can produce these on a larger scale and have a supply year round.

To make these, I used the combination of spices and steps suggested by Tommy J's Kitchen.  Last summer I tried this same method with cucumber slices.  The pickles came out ok, but tasted a little bitter.  I am hoping that whole cucumbers will work better.  I remembered this spice mixture was just about spot on, so I decided to stick with it.

While I was grinding the spices and letting the salt dissolve in the water to make the brine, I let the cucumbers soak in icy water to crisp up.  Then I sliced a tiny bit off the blossom end of the cucumber because this is supposed to eliminate the enzymes that cause pickles to become mushy.

Once the brine was ready, I poured the it over the cucumbers in a food grade plastic bucket.

In order to keep the cucumbers under the brine at all times, they have to be weighted down. A lot of recipes suggest using a dinner plate, but I had to use a food grade plastic lid because a plate wouldn't fit in my bucket.  I placed a sanitized jar filled halfway with water on top of the lid to hold the cucumbers down.

I covered the whole contraption with cheesecloth and placed it in a cool, dry area of our kitchen counter. So far, I haven't had to remove any scum (naturally forming bacteria) from the surface, but continue to check the bucket a few times a day.  I will leave these for 72 hours before testing the results.  Hopefully they will turn out well!