Written by Marketa Barborikova Linden Windsor
There are cool things and people like the cucumber. There are good cucumbers and good healthy cucumbers for your gut. They are called lacto – fermented pickles. Forget the pickled querkins, diving in the vinegar. Lacto fermentation is slow and super healthy. Also easy to make.
Summer is the season of raw, uncomplicated living, and pickling. The relaxing and meal sharing in sun drenched aftertoon and having all sort of fruit and vegetables in abundance on the kitchen counter top, in all bowls and maybe in the glass jars. There is nothing quite like the lazy, sun-drenched ritual of batching your own kvašáky on a warm July afternoon. It is quick, it is easy. It is the level of Rachel Meghan Markle’s basic skills, think about little science abrakadrabra, thanks to the salty water and it does not apply on the saltwater by Brooklyn Beckham’s courtesy and his cooking.
No need to cook at all. Just some Pippa tips are needed. It is the ultimate slow-living aesthetic for your kitchen counter. Our cucumbers are an ultimate health staple.These tangy, sun-fermented cucumbers are a glowing skin and gut health powerhouse, keeping you naturally hydrated and energized through the hottest midsummer days. Probiotic, nice on their own – feel free sprinkle them with the flower petals (Chris Martin of Coldplay still throws out all dried petals and confetti at their concerts, the old habit from the childhood, linked to cosplay with pot pourri)or mating with Brooklyn’s overburnt toast – tasting much better.
Jokes aside, you need certain number of the bigger cucumbers and the super squak big jar or couple of smaller ones, one kettle with the salt and a knife. Feel free to add any aditional goodies such as horseradish or dill, chilli peppers, garlic and maybe grape or blackcurrent leaf is nice – used in Scandinavia. Lacto fermented cucumbers are valued for gut health probiotics, while milk fermentation uses lactic acid bacteria to create products like kefir or yogurt.
Live lactic acid bacteria support a balanced gut microbiome and boost immunity. Raw fermentation preserves vitamins and creates active enzymes lost in high-heat canning. No need to cook anything, just boil the water and let it cool. The process is a little slow, with a big outcome. Natural fermentation breaks down fibers and makes food easier on the stomach without harsh vinegar. Make sure your jars are super sterilised with hot water and dried properly. The use of the dishwasher is the best option.
HOW TO MAKE IT:
- Slice the cucumber into thinner slices. Prepare the garlic cloves, the dill, the leaves or anything else.
- Prepare the brine – 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water. Dissolve the salt in warm or boiled water and let it cool down to lukewarm.
- Layer cucumber slices tightly in the jars + anything else such as the garlic, dill, and leaves, if desired.
- Pour the saltwater brine over the cucumbers ensuring they are completely submerged, seal the lids firmly.
- Leave it at room temperature for 5 or more days (the best for a week) until cloudy and ,milky’. Shake the content in the jars from time to time, carefully.
- If opened, place the jar to the fridge and finish it within three days. The rest of the jars are fine to be stored in dark, cool place for couple of the months, unopened.
They go well with any sort of food, on its own as very low calorie almost vegan snack, to any salad or delicious with the bread dipped into pesto or I like it with the good pork lard fat on the sourdough bread and topped up with sliced lacto fermented cucumber pieces. The brine is good to reuse as well – with yummy dressing or as the cheap electrolyte drink. Just add a splash of honey and one tablet or a teaspoon of the magnesium and shake again.
We have the rye soda bread on the blog ages ago, in last autumn and it was a big hit. Also a big controversional topic in Lalaland, thanks to the gluten content, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Kristen Bell makes nicer version of the rustic rye bread, in form of sourdough and these cucumbers are a nice side dish – as the supporting role. The salty lacto fermented brine will be a lead for the electrolyte drink, as the couple Kristen Bell with Daz Sheppard jokes about certain shopping tips during their vacation in Prague (I will post some tips what to buy here, at some point), but the blue tablets aka the magnesium are a good tip to start with. You pop one into the home made electrolyte drink and you just wait a while. They cost the peanut money and make a big impact – not what Dax Sheppard thinks – it will not save you from the cramps like sucking on the mustard suchets by NHL Leon Draisaitl, but it is another healthy, easy tip to reach the blue zone of the good living. And yes, I love the carbs and the bread with gluten, slow digestion, so one meal aka one slice, topped up with something and I am full up to the morning or from the lunch time to the evening.
And yes, I also upcycle or re-use the glass jars.
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