Sweet Fermented Refrigerator Pickles
These sweet fermented refrigerator pickles give you that classic sweet pickle flavor without loading them up with sugar. The cucumbers are first fermented in a traditional salt brine to develop real tang and probiotic character, then they’re sliced and finished cold in a sweet brine with mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric, and a touch of apple cider vinegar. The result is a sweet, tangy, bread-and-butter style pickle that stays low-carb, crisp, and full of flavor.
Sweet Fermented Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
Pickle Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds small pickling cucumbers
- 1 quart filtered water
- 35 grams fine sea salt or pickling salt
- About 2 tablespoons, but weighing is best
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed, optional
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 family-size plain black tea bag
Sweet Brine Ingredients
- 1 cup fermented brine from this same jar
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/2 - 1 cup sweetener
- 1/3 cup = lightly sweet
- 1/2 cup = sweeter bread-and-butter style
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- Pinch of ground cloves or allspice, optional
- 1/4 small onion, thinly sliced, optional
Instructions
- Gently wash the cucumbers and trim a thin slice off the blossom end.
- Dissolve the salt into the filtered water.
- Add the garlic if using, mustard seed, celery seed, red pepper flakes if using, and 1 family-size plain black tea bag to a clean half-gallon jar.
- Pack in the cucumbers.
- For the crunchiest sweet pickles, ferment them whole or as spears first, then slice them after fermentation. If you want chips from the beginning, slice them thick, but they may soften faster.
- Pour the brine over the cucumbers until fully covered.
- Keep everything submerged with a fermentation weight or a small bag filled with extra brine.
- Cover with a fermentation lid, or use a regular lid and burp daily.
- Ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. You want them lightly tangy, not super sour.
- Then move to Step 2.
- After the cucumbers have fermented for 3 to 4 days, remove the cucumbers and remove the black tea bag.
- Strain the fermented brine to remove most of the seeds, garlic, and loose bits.
- Save 1 cup of the strained fermented brine.
- Slice the fermented cucumbers into chips or spears.
- In a bowl, mix together:
1 cup strained fermented brine
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- Sweetener
- Apple cider vinegar
- Turmeric
- Mustard seed
- Celery seed
- Optional cloves or allspice
- Stir until the allulose dissolves. You can warm the 1/2 cup filtered water slightly to help dissolve the allulose, but let it cool completely before mixing it with the fermented brine.
- Pack the sliced cucumbers and optional onion into a clean jar.
- Pour the sweet brine over the top. Fill the jar with remaining brine
- Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours before eating.
- Ferment for 3 days, remove the tea bag, strain the brine, then sweeten with 1/2 cup allulose for a bread-and-butter style pickle.