People think the sourness in pickles comes from vinegar, but real kosher dills get their acidity from a slow fermentation using salt. Most of the “fake” dill pickles you see in stores are heated with vinegar and then packed with a hot water bath. Real pickles continue to ferment so they need to be refrigerated to slow the process. In any case, they don’t have the nearly infinite shelf life of the ones that have gone through the canning process which kills everything.
Kosher Dill Pickles
About 12-lbs Small, pickling cucumbers, trimmed and washed
2 Heads garlic, cloves separated, peeled and lightly crushed
3 T Whole peppercorns
1 ½ t Dill seeds
1 ½ t Coriander seeds
2 T Juniper berries
6 Hot red Chilies
2 Bunches of dill
Brine, as needed
(Made with 5 ½ oz (weight) pickling salt per gallon of filtered water)
If you don’t have pickling salt, you can process any non-iodized salt in a food processor until it is very fine. (I use Kosher salt.) Make the brine. You will need about 6 quarts. (Using 8 ¼ oz. of salt) Put 1/3 of the cucumbers into a large non-reactive container. (A 5-gallon food-grade bucket works well, if you don’t own a pickle barrel). Cover the cucumbers with 1/3 of the dill, spices and garlic. Add another 1/3 of the cucumbers, then another third of the dill, spices and garlic. Add the rest of the cucumbers, then the rest of the dill, spices and garlic. Pour in enough brine to cover. Weight the cucumbers with a plate to keep them submerged. Check the cucumbers daily, skimming any scum that floats to the top. The time the fermentation takes will depend on the ambient temperature and your personal taste. You can taste them along the way. In a cool, San Francisco kitchen, I like them best after about 9 – 11 days. Strain the brine; pack the pickles into jars and cover with the strained brine. Store them in the refrigerator, where the fermentation will continue very slowly.