Half Sour Pickles Recipe

These fermented half sour pickles are crunchy, mildly tangy, and packed with fresh dill and garlic.

4.43 from 14 votes

Prep Time 10

Fermentation Time 3

Total Time 3 10

Wash your fermentation vessel in hot soapy water and rinse well. It does not have to be sterilized but should be washed well with hot soapy water. Set aside to dry.
Scrub and rinse 2 lbs pickling cucumbers under cold water – avoid hot water or soap. Slice blossom end from each cucumber. Peel and slice 8 fresh garlic cloves.
Wash 2 dill flowers and 8 fresh dill sprigs in cool running water and spin dry in a salad spinner or blot dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Place 1 dill flower and 4 sprigs of dill in the bottom of each jar along with 4 sliced cloves of garlic and 5 whole black peppercorns. I like to use regular mouth quart sized jars for this recipe as the natural taper of the jar helps to hold all the ingredients under the brine.
Pack your jars tightly with cucumbers.

Combine 1000g (4 cups) of water with 38g (~2 tablespoons) of coarse kosher salt. Stir until the salt is completely dissolved.
Pour salt brine into the packed jars, ensuring everything is covered.
Weigh down the ingredients before securing the lid tightly. Set it aside to ferment.

Keep your ferment out of direct sunlight, but somewhere where you’ll see it daily to observe. Open the lid and burp the built up carbon dioxide once a day if using a regular lid, this is not necessary if using self-venting fermentation lids.
After a day or so, you should start to notice fermenting activity. There will be small bubbles that rush to the top of the jar when you tap it, the jar may hiss slightly when opened, the color of the cucumbers will dull from bright green, the brine will be cloudy, and the brine may leak over the top of the jar and run down the sides.
Ferment at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days, beginning to taste at day 3. The exact timing depends on temperature, cucumbers, and how sour you like your pickles. Once they have the mild tang and crunch you’re after, refrigerate them.
Pickles can be eaten right away, but I prefer to let the flavors meld in the fridge for a week before enjoying.

Keep em under. Cucumbers need to stay submerged in the brine during fermentation. Anything poking above the brine is exposed to air and creates an opportunity for mold or other pathogens. A pickle weight makes this easy, but a small ziplock bag filled with brine also works.
Read the bubbles. Small bubbles, cloudy brine, a little fizz, and even some overflow are signs that fermentation is underway. The cucumbers will also lose some of their bright green color. Keep an eye on the whole ferment, rather than just one change at a time.
Taste is the timer. Start tasting around day 3. Temperature, cucumber size and fermentation environment all affect how quickly these pickles sour, so the calendar is only a part of the process.
Burp the jar. Fermentation produces carbon dioxide, so pressure can build in a tightly sealed jar. A self-venting fermentation lid is the easiest option, but if you’re using a standard mason jar, don’t forget to loosen the rings once a day to release built up CO₂.
Make them yours. Garlic and dill are classic, but there’s plenty of room to play. Try mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, dill seeds, celery seed, coriander seed for different flavor profiles.