PSA: Stop tossing your pickle brine - it's a fermentation goldmine

I was at a farmer's market in Austin last weekend and saw a guy dump a whole jar of fermented pickle juice down the drain. That stuff is liquid starter culture for your next batch. I've reused brine from my dill pickles to kickstart a batch of fermented hot sauce and it cut the fermentation time from 10 days to about 6. Does anyone else save their brine for secondary ferments or am I the weird one here?

2 comments

2 Comments

max_jones28d ago

Seems like a lot of fuss over some pickle juice.

smith.blair27d ago

Those 35 confirmed pickle brine samples from last month's state fair actually show a 200% spike in electrolyte content compared to the commercial stuff. Seems like people are on to something.