Pickled cucumbers

Preparation:

Special equipment

Ingredients:

• 30 - 40 small cucumbers (about 15 cm long and 2.5 cm thick)
• 2/3 cup salt for pickling
• 1/4 of white cabbage, cut into 5 cm pieces.
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 8 fresh grape or blackcurrant leaves, no more than 4 cm in size.
• 12 dried red chili peppers (optional)
• 4 large dill umbrellas, stems trimmed (or 4 tsp dried dill seeds)

Preparation:

1. Sterilize the jars.
   
   Wash the jars and screw-on lids in hot, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place a mason jar rack (or a folded kitchen towel) in the bottom of a saucepan and fill halfway with water. Place the jars in the water, completely submerging them. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the jars with tongs and place them on a clean tea towel. Place the lids in the pan of boiling water and let them sit until ready to use.
2. Prepare the brine.
   
   Combine 1/3 cup water and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt.
3. Fill the jars.
   
   Place a layer of cabbage leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 1 grape leaf, 2 chili peppers and an umbrella of dill at the bottom of each sterilized jar.
4. Fill the jar with cucumbers, placing them vertically as many as will fit.
5. Then add another clove of garlic, a grape leaf, a chili pod and an umbrella of dill to each jar.
6. Add brine.
   
   Pour the hot brine into the jars (use a funnel if you have one), leaving 0.3 cm from the top. You may not need all the brine.
7. Close the jars.
   
   Wipe the rims of the jar with a cloth soaked in boiling water. Tighten the sterilized lids as tightly as possible.
8. Pickle the cucumbers.
   
   Once the jars have cooled, move them to a warm place (approximately 25°C) and leave for 1 week. This warm period should allow the brine to become cloudy and the lids to tighten under pressure.
9. Then place the jars in a cool, dark place for at least 6 weeks and up to 6 months, after which the pickles are ready to eat.
   
   
   Note
   
   Be careful when opening the jars: the fermentation process may cause the brine to splatter. And don't worry if the garlic has darkened; it's still safe to eat..