Making homemade pickles can be a little confusing, especially when a recipe uses the word “fermented.” If you’ve always made pickles with vinegar, you may naturally wonder whether fermented pickles need to be processed in a hot-water bath.
The short answer is: fermented pickles and vinegar pickles are made differently, and whether you need a water bath depends on how you plan to store them.
🥒 What Are Fermented Dill Pickles?
Traditional fermented dill pickles are made by placing fresh cucumbers in a saltwater brine, along with ingredients such as dill, garlic, and spices.
During fermentation, naturally occurring beneficial bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid. As the fermentation continues, the acidity increases and the flavor becomes pleasantly sour and tangy.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation describes regular dill pickles as fermented and cured for roughly 3 weeks, although the exact time depends on temperature and the recipe being followed.
🫙 How Are They Different From Vinegar Pickles?
There are two common approaches:
Fermented pickles:
Cucumbers develop acidity through fermentation in a salt brine.
Quick or fresh-pack pickles:
Cucumbers are acidified primarily with vinegar and are not fermented in the same way.
That’s why a recipe for fermented pickles may not tell you to immediately pour boiling vinegar over the cucumbers or process them like a traditional canned pickle.
