Recipe: Small Batch Fermented Dill Pickles

I absolutely love dill pickles. I do not love the ingredients in many store-bought dill pickles. Calcium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Polysorbate 80, Natural Flavor, Yellow 5? No thank you. Crunchy dill pickles are super easy to make at home without the added chemical preservatives, mysterious "natural" flavor, and brain stimulating food dyes. And you don't need a huge garden full of cucumbers to do it!

1 large cucumber = 1 pint.

Ingredients for Small Batch Fermented Dill Pickles: 1 large cucumber, washed 1/2 tbsp fresh dill weed, chopped 1 clove of garlic, pealed and chopped 1/2 tbsp Sea Salt 1/4 Caldwell veggie pack or 4 teaspoons of raw whey

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds 3 whole black peppercorns 5 juniper berries Filtered water Ice 1 red raspberry tea bag or a few loose tea leaves 1 pint glass jar and lid

Directions:

Clean and cut cucumber in to any shape you prefer that will fit in a pint jar, 1 inch from the top. Cover with ice water and let soak for 3 hours (this helps keep them crunchy).

In the meantime, chop up the fresh dill and garlic and mix together in the jar.

Add the sea salt. Add the whey or revive the Caldwell veggie packet and add 4 teaspoons of the liquid. Add the rest of the spices – coriander seed, peppercorns, and juniper berries.

Mix all together well.

When the cucumbers are ready, add them to the jar, tightly packed.

Fill with filtered water to 1 inch from the top, making sure the cucumbers are covered with water.

Open the red raspberry leaf tea back and sprinkle it on top.

Put the lid tightly on the jar and store it in the coolest room of your house (but not refrigerated) for 3 days.

After 3 days, open the lid to release the pressure. Tighten the lid again, and store it in the refrigerator to slow the fermentation process or eat and enjoy.

Dill pickles will last refrigerated, for at least 9 months but should be opened once a week to release pressure.