Crocked, Part I

What the hell is that? you ask. That's my pickle crock with 4 lbs of cucumbers slowly fermenting during the day while I'm out making a hard earned living! What a dear, she is!

This is my first time to make pickles using the crock or fermentation method, but by all accounts it's probably the oldest method out there and so far it has been EASY EASY EASY! My one gallon crock holds about 4 lbs of cucumbers, which I lovingly and aggressively scrubbed in cold water and gently sliced off their ends.

Next I made my brine solution of 1/2 a gallon of bottled spring water, 1 cup of distilled white vinegar, and 1/3 cup of pickling salt. No cooking required, just mix until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then I placed half the cucumbers in the dry crock, added a big bunch of fresh dill, some garlic and a little crushed red pepper and then added half of my brine. I filled the rest of the crock with the remaining cucumbers and the rest of my brine, again adding garlic and pepper.



The pickles should float in the crock a little, if they don't, they are packed too tightly and there should be about an inch of brine covering the cucumbers once they are weighted down. You need to weigh them down to keep them submerged in the brine. I used a saucer that I "borrowed" from the diner across the street and an empty pickle jar (naturally) filled with water as my weight. Just place the plate on top of the cucumbers and then place the jar on top of the plate.

You can see here the inch or so of brine on the top. Cover the whole thing with a towel and leave in a stable, warm place for 3 weeks. On the third or fourth day you will have a lovely scum developing on your water surface. This means the fermentation is in process! Every morning I take a spoon and gently scrape off the scum... I admit, it looks a little gross but it smells WONDERFUL and I get over it in a hurry. I am sooo excited about these pickles. When they are ready you can just grab one right out of the crock, rinse it off and eat it or you can refidgerate them for use within a few weeks. But I hope, if these turn out to be as good as they smell, to be able to give them as gifts. Which means I will can them in the traditional water-bath process method.

You can get 1, 3 and 5 gallon crocks at The Brooklyn Kitchen (the 1 gallon crock is only $19.95) or you can order them online at www.leeners.com.