I'm trying a bit of an experiement. I have been fermenting dill pickles, and I got a request from my son for bread and butter pickles. Now, normally these would be a refrigerator sweet and sour pickle but I decided I would try to used a fermented pickle base to make them.Â
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I began with a fermented pickle using the 1-cup salt to 1 gallon water ratio.  These fermented for about a month which does not ferment all the way to the core at moderate (60-70 degree) temperatures. This ratio of salt leaves a sour and very salty pickle, so the next step is to remove the salt. I figured this is where the bread and butter flavoring can be introduced and still keep a pro biotic fermented result. I like to make heavily salted pickles, and then use the osmosis to remove that salt and replace it with other flavors.
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The step I am trying is a ratio of two parts filtered water to one part vinegar and almost one part sugar.
In particular.  2 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup of the active dill pickle ferment juice, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon mixed brown & yellow mustard seed, 1 tablespoon coriander seed, 1 tablespoon celery seed, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric. I also used a few garden herbs like dill and oregano.
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The cucumbers had been pickled whole, but I cut them into thick slices and added the new flavored liquid ( I guess it's no longer a brine since it doesn't contain much if any salt). Since it doesn't have the high salt content I am placing the jars in a refrigerator at 40-45 degrees for the next couple of weeks.
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I think there is enough active bacteria in the liquid to complete the fermentation of the pickle as it picks up the sugar.
