If you’ve been following me on Facebook, you probably already know that I am currently on a pickling/fermentation streak. That means that all of those gorgeous Italian swing-top jars I’ve been buying compulsively are finally finding their life’s purpose these days. Yet another reason to pat myself on a shoulder — we are trying to only keep the items that are actually being used, so there you go.
Home made farmer cheese and buttermilk
I didn’t invent anything new in the world of pickling. I am just following a tried and true formula for salt-to-water ratio and add some spices at will. I use fresh room temperature artesian well water, I never boil or super-sanitize anything, and I add raw milk whey as fermentation agent. Most of the vegetables take 3-4 days to pickle (some, like lettuce, even shorter), after which they can be moved into cold storage. I am making reasonably small batches of various vegetables, just to see if we like this or that and to figure out what works for my family of diverse-palated folks.
Homemade wild fermentation sourdough with homemade butter
The new things I tried this year are beet kvass, rye bread kvass (a summer drink of choice back in my country), and making lacto-fermented condiments from scratch, which was fun.
Lacto-fermented pickled celery with ginger, garlic and allspice
While the fermentation experiment is still very much on-going, I figured, I’d share a few photos of things I’ve made so far, employing the wonder and magic of fermentation.
Beautiful golden beets kvass — a refreshing and curative drink
Fermentation is no science, precision is needed only if decide to can your vegetables, in which case you’d have to sacrifice the live-enzyme action. Other than that, it’s wide open in terms of what and how much you can pickle/ferment. Using very basic principles, you can find what tastes best to you.
Homemade lacto-fermented mayonnaise, horseradish relish and ketchup
Above are the three condiments we’ve made at home so far. Ketchup is extremely easy and inexpensive to make. We whipped it up in 5 minutes, my five-year-old helping me whisk it all together.
Mayonnaise is a tiny bit more time consuming (we are talking 10 minutes, not 5), but again, nothing complicated.
Horseradish sauce requires swimming goggles along with a grater, or a heavy-artillery of a blender with lid, so that you don’t cry in a process of making it, as horseradish root is very pungent and spicy. Also, takes 5 minutes all in all to put together if you have a blender.
Lacto-fermented Korean carrot salad
Pickling is an awesome way to get rid of your gardening success evidence — those over-producing vegetables that you are sick and tired of already. The photo below is a great example of us hiding the summer squash evidence. It pickles just like cucumbers — quickly and deliciously.
Lacto-fermented pickled summer squashes from our garden
Have a few vegetables that are slightly wilted, a bit dehydrated or past their prime? Pickle them! They will taste great and will finish wilting in a process. Below are two heads of lettuces that we haven’t used up. I removed the obviously bad leaves and pickled the rest. It also works beautifully with oldish bell peppers (you can roast them before pickling), dehydrated cherry tomatoes, celery, etc…
Pickled green-leaf lettuces
Basic spice mix for pickling cucumbers — mustard, dill, fennel, coriander and caraway seeds crushed
Another overage in my garden — cucumbers. One day I just had way too many of them, and in the jar they go. Four days later I simply removed the dill clump from the top of the jar, and put the jar in the fridge. Wildly popular in my house.
A freshly packed jar of pickling cucumbers in brine
Guess what else can basic fermentation/pickling do for you? You can make healthful soda and proudly hand it to your kids without fear. You basically ferment any kind of juicy fruit for a few days with some milk whey to give it some good bacteria boost. Once it gets bubbly, strain, bottle, hold for 24-48 hours at room temp to induce carbonation and refrigerate. Not only is it tasty and free of chemicals, but rest assured, it will deliver a very hefty dose of nutrients, readily available for absorption, thanks to fermentation process.
Sweet Potato Fly — a refreshing and nutritious fermented drink
Eat Already!
