How much salt for very sharp sour lacto pickles in 2 weeks?

Hi all,

I've been trying to make lacto pickles at 4.5% salt to 1L brine, and at the 2 week mark I feel as through they're still very mild and raw tasting. I know that I can let them ferment longer, but I'm just wondering, if I wanted them to be ready (very sharp & sour) in 2 weeks, would I have to increase or decrease the salt? How much salt would be ideal?

I'd like a 2 week ferment to taste like a 3 week ferment @ 4.5%.

Thanks in advance.

Anthony,

When I make pickles (cucumbers, garlic, dill, salt and water) I always use 15 ml salt per 1 l of water. In two weeks they are always pleasant to eat. So it's 1.5%. I like to drink the pickle water afterwards and if it had more salt it would be too much. 1.5% of salt made perfect pickles during heatwave when temperatures were over 40 C. I was shocked myself, but a good fermenting pot does miracles.

Thanks Cristobal,

So it sounds like less salt = more sour at 2 weeks? Would you describe them as having a very sharp sourness?

The reason why I'm confused is because I've seen people say salt "slows fermentation", but then also call 5% "full sour" and 3.5% "half-sour".

After one week I could start consuming them, but only after 2 weeks they started to taste like classic pickles and at the 3rd week they were perfect, so sourness was increasing, but my temperatures were much higher than regular fermenting recommended values, because when I was harvesting my cucumbers the temperatures were soaring.

4.5% sounds like a very salty ferment. I usually make mine at 2% by weight.

Sourness is not due to salt, it is due to lactic acid from the fermentation. Provided there is enough salt that the right strains are doing the fermentation there should be no advantage for a saltier mix. There may be a disadvantage as more salt may inhibit activity.

Anthony Marc wrote:

The reason why I'm confused is because I've seen people say salt "slows fermentation", but then also call 5% "full sour" and 3.5% "half-sour".

Hey Anthony. The way I understand it high concentration does slow down fermentation. But also it gives more shelf life. So if you’re aiming for something that will be eaten quickly, is not for long term storage, then going lower could help speed up the business.
More than the salt content the temperature will influence the speed though, in my experience.
So maybe go for a warmer environment? Too warm might leave you with soggy pickles though I think.
Adding something with tannins (grape leaf, horseradish leaf, oak leaf) is supposed to keep things crispy.
Out of curiosity: are you on the southern hemisphere?

Anthony Marc wrote:Hi all,

I've been trying to make lacto pickles at 4.5% salt to 1L brine, and at the 2 week mark I feel as through they're still very mild and raw tasting. I know that I can let them ferment longer, but I'm just wondering, if I wanted them to be ready (very sharp & sour) in 2 weeks, would I have to increase or decrease the salt? How much salt would be ideal?

I'd like a 2 week ferment to taste like a 3 week ferment @ 4.5%.

Thanks in advance.

Hello Anthony!

If you want it to go faster, make the pieces smaller.   I often use the veggie pulp that comes out of my juicer.  Just add salt, pepper and herbs.  It will be ready in a few days.    I also make very thin slices of carrots and other root veggies.  They work great as a pretty garnish.

Another way to make things go faster is to save the brine from one batch and just add new veggies.  The culture will be strong and quickly ferment your new vegetation.  

If you are starting with fresh salt and water it takes about three days at room temperature to get the culture active enough to bubble up through the jar.  At this point people usually put the jar in the fridge to slow it down.  
You can just keep it at room temperature though.  It will go much faster.  You will want to play with it and taste it everyday. Push down the vegetation on the top of the ferment to make sure it stays anaerobic.  There is extra stress on this top vegetation if it is sticking out of the brine, so you can use a glass weight to keep it below the brine or rotate the material so different vegetation is at the top.    When you get to the taste you like, put it in the fridge.

The more salt, garlic and spices you add the more shelf stable it will be.  

Thanks everyone!

And yes, I'm in Australia, very warm here right now!

What's the shelf life of pickles @ 1.5%? Will 2 week ferment + 1 month refrigerator be okay?

Anthony Marc wrote:What's the shelf life of pickles @ 1.5%? Will 2 week ferment + 1 month refrigerator be okay?

In my experience, they'll last indefinitely. At least a year. After a year in my cellar, they get mushy. In the fridge, they stay pleasant. And remember, they keep fermenting in the fridge, it just slows things down.

I've never had a ferment go bad before I have finished it, at 1.5% to 2% salt by weight. Small exception is there can be some discolouration of stuff at the top if it is out of the brine, but that is reduced/eliminated by using and airlock system and a glass to weigh the cabbage down.

The flavour does continue to intensify slowly over time, but then the shelf in my kitchen is in a cool window. They never go in the fridge.

I was storing them in the "room" temperature for 3 months. Room temperature was 20 to 40 C. Always with stones on top, stoneware pot with water seal. After 3 months they started to get mushy.

@Cristobal: Do you add anything else to your pickles to make them not go mushy so quickly? I use baby lebanese cucumbers from the supermarket (that's the best available) and they go mushy within a week.

@Michael Cox: When you say 2% by weight, do you mean 2% per litre of water, or 2% by weight of water + cucumbers?

2% by total weight.

I take the total weight of the veggies and add 2% salt directly to that. I thoroughly mix it in a bowl, using enough force to slightly bruise the shredded cabbage. Then I get 1 litre of water and add 20g of salt and dissolve it (again, 2% by weight).

I transfer the veggies to the fermentation jar, press them down, then top up with however much of the brine is needed to ensure everything is covered.

Pre-mixing the 2% brine separately from the veggies gives me control over how much brine I then add to the vessel without needing to do any further adjustments to the salt levels.

(Caveat - yes, I know that 1000g of water plus 20g of salt isn't precisely "2% by weight" mathematically. I is really close to it though and in practice works perfectly.)

Anthony,

No other ingredients. I'm using my own cucumbers - regular pickling that do not grow well due to heat and Armenians that grow much better. Sometimes I was also adding watermelon rind. My own dill, store bought garlic and Himalayan salt. Occasionally few bay leaves from my tree.
Do you use a fermentation pot? I'm asking, because my experience when not using the proper pot was complete failure. With the pot it seems idiot-proof. I will repeat that I was schocked to get perfect pickles when the temperatures were reaching 44 C. I was convinced that I will get, mushy, rotten mess.

Thanks everyone.

Cristobal, I use a glass jar with a fermentation lid. I've been adding some liquid black tea to my ferments for tannins. Haven't tried bay leaf yet, might give that a go.