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Vegetables from Hungary

Kovászos uborka (Hungarian leavened cucumbers)kovászos uborka

Kovászos uborka is Hungary's summer cucumber pickle, made without vinegar. Slit cucumbers are packed in a glass jar with dill and garlic, covered with salted water and topped with a slice of bread, then left somewhere warm or in the sun for a few days. The bread is the "kovász" (leaven), and the pickle sours by lactic fermentation.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Kovászos uborka itself.

Short entryVegetables30 h

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold method with no fixed amounts in the sources read.
Pickling cucumbersRecipes differ on size; one says 8–10 cm clusters are best, another that cucumbers start at 10 cm long and 3 cm across[huwiki]
Salted water[huwiki][enwiki]
A bunch of fresh dill[huwiki][enwiki]
A few cloves of garlic[huwiki][enwiki]
A small spoon of black pepper[huwiki]
A slice or two of breadOn top, and in some recipes also at the bottom[huwiki][enwiki]
Horseradish, savory, hot pepper, celery stalk, coriander or mustard seed (optional)[huwiki]
Starterother: a slice of bread (the kovász, or leaven)

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteriaYeasts

What changes: Slit cucumbers, dill and garlic are packed into a glass jar

Step 1 of 3
Pack slit cucumbers with dill and garlic in a glass jar
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts

Output: packed jar.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Kovászos uborka is Hungary's summer cucumber pickle, made without vinegar. Slit cucumbers are packed in a glass jar with dill and garlic, covered with salted water and topped with a slice of bread, then left somewhere warm or in the sun for a few days. The bread is the "kovász" (leaven), and the pickle sours by lactic fermentation. Made in 3 steps over 30 h. The longest step, leave in a warm place or in the sun, takes at least 30 h (Hungarian Wikipedia 2026) and runs at 25–30 °C (Hungarian Wikipedia 2026). Lactic acid bacteria from the cucumbers; yeasts from the bread does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 hReported[huwiki][enwiki]Leave in a warm place or in the sun
Temperature25–30 °CReported[huwiki]Leave in a warm place or in the sun

What makes this one different

Kovászos uborka is the summer, vinegar-free cucumber of Hungary, started with bread. Hungary's savanyú uborka, made for the rest of the year, is pickled in vinegar.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Savanyú uborkaThe vinegar pickle made through the rest of the year; not fermented.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [huwiki] Hungarian Wikipedia, Kovászos uborka (Elkészítése and Mikrobiológiai folyamatok sections), read 2026-10wiki
  2. [enwiki] Wikipedia, Pickled cucumber (Hungarian section), read 2026-10wiki