Crispy and slightly salty these Hungarian Summer Pickles are fermented not pickled! Post may contain affiliate links.
Hungarian Summer Pickles
I have canned pickles, frozen pickles, and made quick pickles. Up to this point, I have never fermented them. Well, I can scratch that off my list. Last week, I tried two different ferments (the other one, I'll post on Wednesday). Fermenting is not for the faint of heart. It gets pretty ugly pretty quickly. I kept googling fermented pickles to make sure everything was looking okay. It gets cloudy, and you have skim off a scummy foam from time to time. But when it is all said and done, you have a pickle that is so different from regular vinegar pickles. They are crisp and slightly salty. Unique.
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Here they are after just one day. You can see the bubbles starting to form. If you've kept a sourdough starter alive or made your own sauerkraut (next on my list!), you know the fun of watching something alive working away. These pickles are easy, time and yeast do all the work. You basically check on them daily, skimming off any foam or scum at the top. These particular pickles use the sun to speed up the fermenting time - they are ready within about 5 days! I found this recipe in The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from Garden or Market (Revised Edition) a book I highly recommend if you plan on doing any pickling - and you should!
Hungarian Summer Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 quart 3-5 inch pickling cucumbers blossom end removed
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt or kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 fresh head and 1 frond of dill
- About 2 cups water
Instructions
- Gently wash the cucumbers, and remove the blossom ends. Using a knife, slit the cucumbers through lengthwise just short of the end, so they are still attached. (I used a skewer to poke mine from one end of the cucumber through to the other end).
- Place pickling salt or kosher salt, vinegar, and dill into a narrow-mouth quart jar. Pack cucumbers tightly into jar so they won't float, leaving 1 inch headspace. Pour in water to cover and cap the jar with a nonreactive lid.
- Place the jar outside in the sun or in a sunny window (place a saucer under the jar to catch any drips). Bring the jar in at night. (I did mine on a sunny window sill). Within 3 days, you should see tiny bubbles, indicating the cucumbers are fermenting. When the tiny bubbles have stopped rising (around 5 days), place in refrigerator. They will keep about 2 weeks, refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
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Christine Meleg says
I checked with recipes from Hungary, from my Nagymama Grandmother inHungarian,, my Hungarian cookbooks, and never found a recipe even similar to this one., For fermentation to occur accurately there must be a source for yeast, your recipe relies on air borne yeast or perhaps some retained on the cucumbers. My recipes call for at least two to four slices of fresh bread, or two french rollsl to deliver it. Plus our pickles use more salt in the brine 2 tablespoons of Kosher or pickling salt per quart of water, you must measure how much water you need to keep the cucumbers covered with brine. the brine must be boiled, then cooled then poured over the cucumbers. I use clear, colorless glass jar, place the bread on the bottom, well rinsed dill, then cucumbers, dill then the rest of the bread, then brine, cover the mouth of the jar with cheese cloth, use at least two layers, thick to keep insects out and place in the sun for at least three days. The pickles are ready when they have turned yellow near the ends and remain crisp. Place pickles in clean jars, you may slice them at this point, new sprigs of fresh dill and new brine to cover. Cover the jars with lids or a layer of aluminum foil. Refrigerate, they keep approximately three weeks.
Pam Greer says
Thanks for all the info, this was a recipe that I found in a very well respected pickling book, and it worked great for me. I will however, try your recipe because it sounds like it is more authentic from your Hungarian grandmother.
Marie (Mary) B Luyber-Glick says
its a good pickle recipe, but not Hungarian stinky pickles (as we used to call them) My NagyMomma did not use vinegar because it kills the yeast. She used rye bread (the heel) and actually would put them on the porch for three days. the bread makes the pickle ferment and taste terriffic. Also, if you are constipated, these pickles help.
Pam Greer says
Oh, I like the idea of using rye bread.
Miz Helen says
Congratulations!
Your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week and we have pinned it to our Features Board. Thanks so much for sharing with us and have a safe weekend!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
Miz Helen says
Hi Pam,
I can't wait to try one of your beautiful summer pickles! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Gentle Joy Homemaker says
That sounds like a lot of work to have to do something to it every day, but the pickles sound wonderful! I like how you explained the process. Thank you. 🙂
Ellen Pilch says
I love pickles, these look great.
Cynthia says
Well I'm happy they turned out so great despite the shaky journey. Good thing you trusted your instincts! Thank you for linking at the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you again next week.
Kat says
I have made tons of pickles this summer, and wish I had tried this one, but I may still get to since my cucumbers are still making, amazingly. I do mine the old fashioned way, canning them in a vinegar brine, Kosher, of course.
I discovered the joy of making sauerkraut about a year and a half ago, and love it. I make it in small batches; a gallon or less. I use a food grade plastic gallon bucket until I buy me a crock. No use buying a crock unless you plan on making pickles/kraut a lot as they are not cheap.
Anyway, if I can help, an I am not claiming to be an expert, email me. I have an aunt that has been making the best kraut for decades to fall back on and without her, I may have tossed some of the best kraut I have made. Good luck. Here is a link that may also help: http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/
Still read your posts, just been in a slump for a couple years now about my blog.
Pam says
I've been making pickles this summer too. These look tasty!
Catherine says
I love pickles. I really should try making my own. These sound delish! blessings, Catherine
Marjie says
It's so much fun to watch you making pickles this summer! I hope they taste wonderful.
Joanne says
I am quite impressed with your fortitude! I would have probably freaked out and given up!