I really need some good advice on these pickles. They are still fermenting -- I usually ferment for 3 weeks. The smell is still strong, though when a friend visited a couple of days ago I asked if he could smell them and if the smell seemed off to him. He said he could smell them but they just smelled like good dill pickles. So maybe I'm stressed about nothing. The smell is something I haven't encountered in previous ferments, and the thick brine is also something I haven't encountered. Sedimentation is good, but this is a lot of sedimentation, not clear, not settling in the crock. Has a yellow tinge. As noted below, I tasted a tiny bite of a pickle last week, and had no ill effects. I'm due to take these out of the crocks on 8/30 and put them in jars, so I really need some advice. Is this a case where I should discard all this brine and add fresh brine to the jars? Or is it likely just yeast sediment from the strong, early fermentation that took place and continued for at least a week? I don't want to poison myself or friends with these, so please help! And many thanks, upfront.
I've made pickles successfully several times over the last couple of years, but this time I'm not really comfortable with what I smell.
They've been fermenting two weeks in crocks, covered with cloth. Fermentation began almost immediately and was quite strong. Lots of bubbles and burps and foam to skim off. Smelled great. Developed a tad bit of mold early on, but was able to skim that, clean the sides, etc.
The past few days the smell has gone from fresh dill to kind of funky, underlaid by dill. The top of the brine looks normal. Everything completely submerged, not much white layer developing that needs to be cleaned off anymore.
Any suggestions? I emptied contents of one crock into large bowl. Everything looks normal, but the brine is milky and the kitchen reeks. Maybe just more sediment than normal? I tasted a small part of one pickle -- it was crunchy and tasted normal, didn't smell. Maybe it was the oak leaves that were creating a smell? HELP!