Ogórki kiszone

Ingredients

Cucumbers

• 2 kgsmall pickling cucumbers, firm and unwaxed

Brine

• 2 litreswater
• 100 gcoarse non-iodised salt — 5% of the water’s weight

Aromatics

• 1large bunch dill with flower crowns
• 1 headgarlic, cloves peeled
• 1 piecehorseradish root, sliced
• 8blackcurrant or oak leaves
• 1 tbspblack peppercorns
• 1 tbspmustard seed

Directions

1. Soak the cucumbers in ice-cold water for four hours. Cold, firm cucumbers stay crisp; limp ones never recover.
2. Trim a sliver off the blossom end of each. That end carries an enzyme that softens a whole jar, and it is the usual reason home pickles go hollow.
3. Dissolve the salt completely in the water. Weigh it: 5% is what protects the jar in the days before the bacteria build enough acid to protect it themselves.
4. Line the jar with half the dill, horseradish and leaves, pack the cucumbers upright, and tuck the garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed and remaining aromatics among them.
5. Pour over the brine so everything sits 3 cm below the surface, and weight the cucumbers down.
6. Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature. After three or four days they are małosolne — lightly salted, still bright green, and eaten as they are, which is a season of its own in Poland.
7. Leave them one to two weeks for full ogórki kiszone, sour all the way through and olive rather than green inside.
8. Move somewhere cold, where they keep for months. Drink the brine cold — it is a genuine Polish hangover cure and the base of zupa ogórkowa.

Technique

• Trim the blossom ends and use the tannin leaves. Both, every time.
• Małosolne at four days and kiszone at two weeks are two different pleasures from the same jar. Take some out early.
• Skim any white film off as it appears. Coloured fuzzy mould means something rose above the brine.

Substitutions

• Grape, cherry or horseradish leaves in place of blackcurrant.
• A splash of brine from a working jar to start it faster.

Variations

• Ogórki konserwowe are the vinegar version — sharp rather than sour, and a different pickle entirely.
• The brine is used to make zupa ogórkowa and to marinate meat.

History

Fermented in barrels with dill, garlic and horseradish and stored in cellars; the brine itself is drunk as a hangover cure.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ogórki kiszone?

Ogórki kiszone is a fermented & pickled from Poland: salt-brined dill cucumbers, sour and cloudy, eaten with vodka or bread. Fermented in barrels with dill, garlic and horseradish and stored in cellars; the brine itself is drunk as a hangover cure.

How long does Ogórki kiszone take to make?

Ogórki kiszone takes 30 min plus 1 to 2 weeks fermenting of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes fills a 3-litre jar. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ogórki kiszone?

Yes, within limits. Grape, cherry or horseradish leaves in place of blackcurrant. A splash of brine from a working jar to start it faster.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ogórki kiszone?

Soak the cucumbers in ice-cold water for four hours. Cold, firm cucumbers stay crisp; limp ones never recover.