Want to use fermented foods to improve your health? Hi, I'm Holly and I teach fermentation. Learn how to safely transform everyday vegetables into superfoods. Join 12,000+ Fermentation Ninjas and enjoy delicious homemade sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, and... more.
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🥒 Get ready for pickle season with the perfect fermentation weights!
Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read
HeyReader,
It’s peak season for fresh vegetables—and the perfect time to turn cucumbers, beans, carrots (and more!) into crunchy, gut-loving pickles. 🥒
But before you dive in, there’s one essential thing to get right: keeping everything safely submerged under the brine while it ferments.
That’s where a fermentation weight comes in.
I have not found one weight that works for all types of pickles. Thankfully, I have a stockpile of various weights to choose from.
The three I most often use when making brine-fermented vegetable pickles are:
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Glass Weights
Cauliflower Pickles, Curried
Glass weights work well for closely packed vegetables. For example, slices of cucumbers, jalapenos, or zucchini. Or, a chopped mix like Giardiniera.
They don't work well for tall spears that shrink and loosen up during fermentation, as the weight can fall into the jar. Examples are green beans or asparagus spears.
Hands down, a fermentation spring is my go-to weight when making sauerkraut.
With pickles, it doesn't work perfectly with all vegetables but does with most. Soft vegetables, like pickle spears, can get crushed under the force of the spring. It can work if they are cut shorter and the spring isn't as coiled.
Canning Buddies
The Canning Buddies disc fits into the mouth of your jar.
Canning Buddies are inexpensive and work quite well with pickles. They are plastic discs that are kept in place in the neck of your canning jar and are available in both wide-mouth and regular-mouth.
I hope this has given you some ideas on what to use as a pickle weight.
In A Pickle! Dive into the World of Perfectly Pickled Vegetables
Learn the insider techniques of my Perfect Pickle Process to master brine fermentation and fill your fridge with crunchy vegetables such as Giardiniera, Jalapeño Slices, and Dilly Bean Pickles.
How do I keep all the spices and bits from floating to the top of my jar when making fermented pickles?
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When seasonings and small bits of vegetables float to the surface of your ferment, they can become a place for mold spores to gather and grow. Generally, I don't worry about it, but I keep an eye out for mold growth. If I see it (rarely), I use a spoon to remove the small bit. You can prevent the problem by putting your spices in a reusable muslin tea bag. The bag stays at the bottom of your jar, and the spices do not float to the surface.
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Want to use fermented foods to improve your health? Hi, I'm Holly and I teach fermentation. Learn how to safely transform everyday vegetables into superfoods. Join 12,000+ Fermentation Ninjas and enjoy delicious homemade sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, and... more.
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