Real pickles do not come from vinegar. The crunch and the tart pucker of a deli sour come from lacto-fermentation: salt, time, and nothing artificial. This kit is the whole setup for doing it on your kitchen counter.

Pack cucumbers into the half gallon glass fermenting jar with a salt brine, set the glass weight on top so everything stays submerged, snap on the airlock lid, and leave it alone. The airlock lets fermentation gases out while your pickles develop that unmistakable deli tang. No canning kettle, no vinegar, no special skills.

The black tea bag is the part people miss. It is the fermenter’s trick for extra crisp pickles, and FarmSteady puts one in the box.

The jar, the glass weight and the airlock lid are reusable, so the first batch is the only one you pay for. The same setup handles round after round of whatever the farmers market hands you, and the printed box says so outright: great for kraut and fermented hot sauce too.

You supply the produce. Cucumbers, vegetables and water are not included in the box. FarmSteady publishes free step by step instructions at farmsteady.com/lacto-pickles.