Suolakurkku

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
• 8blackcurrant leaves
• 6cherry or oak leaves
• 1 headgarlic, cloves peeled
• 1 piecehorseradish root, sliced
• 1 tbspblack peppercorns
• 1 tbspmustard seed

Directions

1. Soak the cucumbers in ice-cold water for three to four hours. Cold firm cucumbers stay crisp; limp ones do not recover.
2. Trim a sliver off the blossom end of each. That end carries an enzyme that softens the whole jar, and it is the usual reason home-brined cucumbers go hollow.
3. Dissolve the salt completely in the water. Weigh it — 5% is what protects the jar in the days before the acidity builds, and this is a salt pickle rather than a vinegar one, so the concentration is the only safeguard.
4. Line the jar with half the dill and leaves, pack the cucumbers in upright, and tuck the garlic, horseradish, peppercorns, mustard seed and the rest of the dill and leaves among them.
5. Pour over the brine so everything is covered by 3 cm, and weight the cucumbers down.
6. Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature for one to two weeks. It will cloud and bubble; skim any white film off as it appears.
7. They are ready when sour all the way through and olive-coloured rather than bright green inside. Move them somewhere cold, where they keep for months.
8. Serve with boiled potatoes, cold meat and rye bread.

Technique

• Trim the blossom end. It takes thirty seconds and it is the single biggest cause of soft pickles.
• The leaves are not decoration — their tannins keep the cucumbers firm through months in brine.
• This is a salt ferment, not a vinegar pickle. It tastes sour rather than sharp, and it keeps by acidity the bacteria produce rather than acidity you added.

Substitutions

• Grape or horseradish leaves in place of blackcurrant.
• A splash of brine from a working jar to speed the start.

Variations

• The Estonian hapukurk and Russian solyonye ogurtsy are the same preserve.
• Small green tomatoes fermented in the same brine alongside.

History

A Finnish and Karelian summer preserve packed with dill crowns and eaten through winter.

Frequently asked questions

What is Suolakurkku?

Suolakurkku is a fermented & pickled from Finland: cucumbers salted in brine with dill and blackcurrant leaf, sour not sweet. A Finnish and Karelian summer preserve packed with dill crowns and eaten through winter.

How long does Suolakurkku take to make?

Suolakurkku 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 Suolakurkku?

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

What is the most important thing to get right in Suolakurkku?

Soak the cucumbers in ice-cold water for three to four hours. Cold firm cucumbers stay crisp; limp ones do not recover.