Natural Pickles

The all-purpose brine to pickle any vegetable

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5

Fermentation 7

Course Side Dish

Servings 1 liter/quart

Ingredients

1 liter water (or 1 quart)
50 grams kosher salt (or 3 tablespoons, plus a pinch, Morton's Kosher salt, or, 4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt in the quart of water)
enough cut up vegetable to fill a quart jar

Instructions

Put the water and salt in a measuring glass and microwave just until the salt the salt is dissolved. You may need to stir it. Let it cool to room temperature.
Fill a quart Ball jar or other vessel with the vegetable to be pickled (peppers, shredded cabbage, julienned carrot). Pour the salt water brine over the vegetable.
Now this is the important part: cover the vessel with plastic wrap. Place a weight, a small jar, a shot glass, any thing that will keep the veg submerged (air is the enemy).
Put the vessel on a plate (the brine tends to bubble over after a day or so) and leave it in a cool place for 7 days.
Taste the brine. It should be pleasantly sour. Taste the vegetable. It's pickled!
Serve as a condiment, a garnish for anything needing acidity, from a salad, a soup, a sandwich, a sauce.

Notes

Note that if your kitchen is hot, like, it's summer and your kitchen is 75 degrees, you may develop mold on the surface of the brine. Just remove it. And the high temps may have pickled it faster. Hotter temperatures can result in some funky stuff. If it smells nasty, don't eat it for godsake. Remember, this is wild fermentation. It's different every time.