My mother, Sofia, whose pickles were always in high demand, gave me the recipe for Ukrainian dill and garlic pickles.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 days |
| Total Time: | 4 days 30 mins |
| Servings: | 40 |
| Yield: | 1 gallon |
Ingredients
- 5 pounds small pickling cucumbers
- 4 quarts water
- ¾ cup kosher salt
- 1 bunch fresh dill stalks
- 2 bulbs garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Soak cucumbers in cold water overnight.
- Sterilize a 1 gallon glass or ceramic container. Combine water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil. Prepare cucumbers by trimming the ends and making a slit in the sides with a small sharp knife.
- In the bottom of the sterile container, place several stalks of dill, half of garlic cloves, about 10 peppercorns, and a slice or two of red chile pepper. Arrange half of cucumbers over seasonings and then repeat the layers. When brine comes to a boil, pour over cucumbers to cover. Place a small plate on top of pickles to keep them submerged. Store in a cool place.
- Pickles will be ready in 4 to 10 days, depending on how warm it is. Once they have fermented to your liking, refrigerate until using.
- For safety when canning and preserving foods, contact your local extension for guidelines in your area that will be specific to your altitude.
Reviews
Too salty, but I will try again since other reviews were very good.
I make these in much smaller batches—about 10 cukes At a time. I pick them in my garden and put them in the brine the same day. I got the salt down to 3/4 tbsp for every 2 cups of water. I follow the recipe and sometimes experiment adding other herbs. Fresh oregano or basil work well. These are the best!
These pickles are delicious. My kids said they are the best pickles they have ever eaten. I added an oak leaf to each quart jar to keep them crunchy.
My first attempt at fermented pickles. We tried them several times during the two weeks we left them to ferment and WOW they were salty. My kids couldn’t even swallow their bites; my husband and I were able eat them but yes, pretty salty. I looked at the salt to water ratio in another fermented cucumber recipe and they used 2T of salt to 1 quart of water (1/3 less salt) so I made a fresh batch of brine to put the pickles in when moving them to the fridge. Not sure if it’s too late but thought it wouldn’t hurt to try.
These turned to mush by day 8. Won’t make these again. Followed instructions, not sure what went wrong.
An authentic recipe., super easy since fermenting is alot easier than pickling methods. These are actually lacto-fermented , a process used for thousands of years.(sauerkraut, kimchi deli pickles are lacto fermented) Any “bad”bacteria gets destroyed and the good lacto bacillus takes over and safely preserves food . Google “lacto fermentation” I made a few jars of these a few weeks ago, (after 6 days I taste tested one , were excellent , then I moved jars to the fridge . I did think they were a little too garlicky, but still the best I’ve had.) I made 36 quarts yesterday, I added dill flowers , dill sprigs, garlic ( I only used half the garlic called for this time), a thin ring of hot red pepper, five peppercorns in each jar. I lined the jar with a small Concord grape leave , as this makes the pickles crisp , like alum would. Oak leaves work too. I would have added a slice of horseradish root instead of hot pepper but my market had none this week. If you can find dill flower heads ( easier in spring, and they dry easily) they are so pretty in the jar , but you’ll still need dill spigs for taste . Again, this is a fermentation process, so be patient ! You may be tempted, to add vinegar to this brine. DONT ! It alters fermentation , allows for bad bacteria to grow, and you could ruin everything !! So NO VINEGAR. Be patient. If you want a quicker pickle, use a vinegar pickling process. Very different . RENEMBER these will not taste like pickles for several d
These were a little salty for my taste. I used a little less salt, didn’t pour hot brine over them but let it cool first, added a Tbsp vinegar, and stored them at about 60 degrees so that they didn’t get moldy. This worked better and after three days I had some nice half sour pickles.
I made several jars of these pickles this summer while I was canning pickles with our traditional Recipe. I threw our old one out. These are the best tasting home-canned pickles I have ever eaten. Used dill paste instead of the Sprigs and added chopped Garlic for the cloves–They turned out wonderful! the best mix of vinegar, salt and water I have found yet! Thank You for sharing, will be adding to my summertime canning routine.
these are a nice flavor and change I did these with zucchini they turned out fabulous but have also did them with cucumbers also fabulous. thanks for sharing
Mine are on day six of fermenting and they taste way too salty so I am going to follow the suggestions for fixing them. My garlic pieces have turned bright green, is that normal? Are they absorbing the cucumber colors? I made these from my garden pickles and jalapeno peppers for the spice. I’m going to leave them until Sunday then I’ll come back and comment on the results.
These are not technically pickled, they are fermented. I am American but have lived in Poland for 11 years and this is how they do their “malo solne” which means low salt cukes. They are fantastic for digestion as they crate a bacteria that aids in proper digestion. But the above water to salt ratio seems high to me so I can see why some say it is too salty, they should not be too salty. Here we do 1 liter of water to 1 tablespoon of salt. We also put in the large dill flower, sliced of horseradish (if you like them a bit spicier) slice of garlic, peppercorns and various leaves from the following plants or trees: horseradish, tart cherry, black currant or oak. Also you don’t have to put the brine over when it is hot. You only do that if you are trying to speed up the process but I find they stay crispier if you let the brine cool.
This is the recipe I grew up with, too. They never made it to the fridge, though!! Now when I refrigerate them, I dilute the brine by half with cooled, boiled water. When I tried refrigerating with the original brine, the pickles were too strong, and got soft after a while. This method preserves the flavor and the pickles. Thanks for posting!
I made a couple dozen jars using this recipe last summer and I just finished the last jar. Gave away several and have had several requests for more. Its a hit!
Delicious! We had a bumper crop of cukes this year so I was handing out jars of pickles to whoever came to visit. Remember, these have to be kept in the refrigerator after you jar them and I was running out of room. Everyone loved them. The first batch I made just like the recipe said and we had a few people tell us “too much garlic” I love garlic but I had to agree with them. The second batch I cut the garlic in half, much better. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
These tasted just like my Ukrainian mother in law used to make. My husband said it brought back family memories. Excellent recipe.
I cute the salt like some recommended but I think next time I will use the whole amount. This was so easy and simple.
These are so easy. A hit in the neighborhood. Don’t be scared of the slime on top. I left for 13 days and very pungent, but great. Did not work too well for store-bought pickling cukes – too soft. From the garden, they kept crisp. Amazing recipe. Thanks for posting.
These are very aromatic and delicious! Thanks for the recipe! My problem was that they come out too salty. I’m wondering if it’s because I scaled down the recipe and the ingredients are not supposed to be scaled down. I will try with 5 pounds of cucumbers next time. Make sure you are not using a plastic container for these, but a glass or ceramic one as the recipe specifies; it does make a difference. If yours come out too salty like mine did, here is how I saved them: Pour the liquid out, and wash the cucumbers with running water (if too salty, soak them in water for some time). Return them in the container with the spices. Boil 1 part vinegar, with 1.5 part water, and 1/4 part sugar. Pour the boiling liquid on top of the cucumbers, seal and store in refrigerator. Good luck!
I’m trying to revive them by adding some alum to make them crisp and then vinegar to preserve them and give them tanginess like all other pickles.
It was my first try with pickles, I guess I’m just used to store bought. Just not enough seasoning or sour enough. Maybe they’ll be better the longer they set.
Choodovo!!!!! Just like Tato used to make!!!!!! The real thing!!!