pickles gone bad

[damien theophano]

I am not having great success with my pickles. Often they come out soft (rotting, i guess) after about a week of fermentation. sometimes it's one or two in the batch, but that usually spreads to the rest of the pickles
any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

thanks
damien

[Jose Cisneros]

> I am not having great success with my pickles. Often they come out soft (rotting, i guess) after about a week of fermentation. sometimes it's one or two in the batch, but that usually spreads to the rest of the pickles
> any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

What's the salt to water ratio that you are using?

This is what i use to make a brine or pickle.
Salt to water:
50 grams salt, one liter water.
That and grape leaves works for me.
This will also vary with the thing you are fermenting.
A pepper mash starts with about 17% salt by weight.
Your mileage may vary.

The temperature of the ambient will also have an effect.
If it's too warm the pickle will rot.

Regards,

Joe

[Dan Lesh]

agree with joe.  a cooler temperature and the addition of some leaves (grape, cherry, oak and probably others work, but I use lots of currant leaves) would be my first thought.