Real Ukrainian 2-day pickled cucumbers

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 ½ kg pickled cucumbers, small
• 2 sprigs of dill with flower heads
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 tbsp rock salt (alternatively sea salt without additives)
• 6 peppercorns
• 4 bay leaves
• 6 oak leaves
• 3 tsp mustard flour
• 1 ½ liters of water

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest period approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 2 days 20 minutes

Ohirky malosolni, traditional Ukrainian cuisine

Wash the pickled cucumbers and soak them in cold water for a few hours to keep them crisp. Cut off the tips and pierce each cucumber 2-3 times with a toothpick. Layer the cucumbers in a container, alternating with the coarsely chopped onions and garlic cloves. Layer coarsely chopped dill stalks, peppercorns, bay leaves, and oak leaves (for crunch) between them. Dissolve salt and mustard flour in cold water, then pour the brine over the cucumbers. Weigh them down with an upturned plate and cover. Let stand for 2 days at room temperature. After 2-3 days, the cucumbers are ready to eat; they will now be slightly salty and not yet fully fermented—these are malosol cucumbers (semi-salted cucumbers). After another 3-4 days, they become sour salt-dill cucumbers and can be stored in the refrigerator or cellar. They will then keep for 3-6 months. Malosol cucumbers are pickled fresh almost every week in Ukraine during the summer – a crunchy vegetable side dish that is almost always present in Ukrainian cuisine during cucumber season. These unpasteurized pickled cucumbers contain the natural, live lactic acid bacteria that are important for a healthy gut flora. Tip: Please use only coarse rock salt or sea salt without any additives for this recipe. Unfortunately, lactic acid fermentation won’t work with fine iodized salt with additives in this recipe. I buy Ukrainian rock salt and mustard flour for fermented vegetables from a Turkish supermarket.