Ingredients
- 2 lbs zucchini use fresh, young zucchini for best results
- 4 whole garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons tea loose leaf black or green tea
- 2 sprigs fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dill weed
- 2 pints filtered water
- 2 tablespoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- Wash and slice zucchini into rounds.
- Add the dill, garlic, tea and zucchini slices to a half-gallon jar or split between multiple wide-mouth pint jars leaving enough room for the fermentation weight.
- To make the pickle brine, mix 1⁄2 cup of warm water with the salt and stir until the salt has dissolved. Once the salt has dissolved completely, add the remaining water. Add the turmeric to the brine and mix well.
- Pour the brine into the jar with the zucchini. There should be enough to submerge the zucchini under the brine. If not, make more brine and add it to the jar.
- Weigh the vegetables down with fermentation weights, a zip-top bag full of water, or a small ramekin so they remain completely under the brine. No need to remove air bubbles, just make sure the brine completely covers the vegetables.
- Cover the jar loosely with a lid and store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight for three days.
- Once the brine is cloudy (typically day 3 or 4), try a pickle to see if it’s to your liking. If it’s not quite “pickle-y” enough, allow them to ferment for another 24 hours before testing again. (Expect them to be sour and smell like pickles.)
- Once the zucchini tastes how you would like it to, store the jar with a secured lid in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Notes
- The blossom end of the zucchini has enzymes that can make your pickles soft. Discard and feed them to your backyard chickens or put them in your compost pile.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 20kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 1759mg | Potassium: 302mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 231IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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