Sunrise Pickles

These crunchy Sunrise Pickles are great out-of-hand or cut thinly for a salad garnish. There is a very pleasant lemony flavor in this unassuming recipe. This recipe makes two quarts. -Adapted by B. Hettig, based on a recipe in Pickled by Lucy Norris

Ingredients for Sunrise Pickles:

• 2 pounds of Daikon Radish or small turnips.
• 1 small, raw beet.
• Lemon zest strips from 1 lemon, use a sharp peeler.
• 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
• 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar, of other white vinegar.

Directions for Sunrise Pickles:

1. Peel the beet and radishes. Cut radishes into 3/8-inch thick slices, then cut slices into 1/2-inch wide sticks. Cut the beet into thin slices.
2. Add beets, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vinegar to a clean 2 quart jar. Add the daikon radish, tamping lightly as you go until about 3 inches from the lip.
3. Make a salt water brine solution. To do this, dissolve salt in filtered water at a ratio of 2 tablespoons of salt to 4 cups of water for this 2-quart batch.
4. Fill your 2-quart jar with this brine solution until about 1 inch from the jar lip.
5. Use some sort of weighty object to hold the pickles under the brine solution. Be sure to place the jar in your sink as you do this as there is sure to be spillage. We sell our Brine Overflow Cup as a weight here: Brine “Catch” Cup – Wide Mouth
6. Remove the cup and wipe any debris on the lip of the cup and the jar, then put the cup back in. Install a Lid Gasket inside a Wide Mouth Fermenter Lid. Tighten the lid until its snug.
7. Add tap water to a ClearView Airlock to the max line. Now gently insert the airlock into the hole of the fermenter lid until snug. Make sure not to push too deeply into the lid. As the fermentation happens, the water should move back and forth, and bubbles should move through the airlock, this is correct and indicates a tight seal.
8. Write down the date you began fermentation on the lid using a Lid Marking Pen. After 4 days, check to see if the pickles are sour enough for you. If they are not, just add a day and re-check.

For even better and more delectable recipes, check out our Fermentation Recipe Booklet, where you will find many recipes, tips and tricks to brine pickling, and so much more!