Slice unwaxed cucumbers lengthwise, but no all the way through the end, like so:
KODAK Digital Still Camera
Place in sterilized jars.
Add 3-4 juniper berries, lots of fresh dill, 1 t. whole peppercorns, and several whole garlic cloves
KODAK Digital Still Camera
Cover with brine–3 c. warm bottled water 2 heaping tablespoons of natural salt (let salt dissolve.) Place a crusty hunk of bread in the top of each jar and loosely screw on sterilized lid.
Set jars in the sun for two days to ferment.
KODAK Digital Still Camera
Discard if you ever see mold, or if it smells “off.”
I am a wife and mother of three children ages 11, 14, and 18. I used to be a stay-at-home mom (teaching piano & dance, volunteering, etc). From 2007 to 2010, I suffered accidental Toxic Injury (also called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or MCS). MCS has had major impact on our family, but the forced time in bed has given me time to write. So far, I have published 4 children's books (2 in e-book format on Kindle, one in Print-on-Demand at CreateSpace, and one printed by a local printer). Sometimes I miss my old life, but I love writing for children!
People thought the bread was there to impart yeast for the fermentation, but this cannot be true because once baked, bread yeast is dead. However, my hypothesis is that the carbs in the bread feed the natural microbes found on cucumber skins. This is a very fast ferment for a brine ferment, so feeding the microbes with bread would make sense.
From 2007 to 2010, I suffered accidental Toxic Injury (also called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or Environmental Illness). But, the forced time in bed has given me time to write. It has been such a blessing to work on my children's books and stories!
I love: God, family & friends, outdoors, gardening, animals, writing, reading, photography, cooking, music, dance, bare feet, long skirts, lavender & yellow, and chocolate.
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What is the bread for?
People thought the bread was there to impart yeast for the fermentation, but this cannot be true because once baked, bread yeast is dead. However, my hypothesis is that the carbs in the bread feed the natural microbes found on cucumber skins. This is a very fast ferment for a brine ferment, so feeding the microbes with bread would make sense.