Hey there friends!
For this post, I’ve invited my friend, Morgan to give you a brief rundown of fermented foods and her favorite fermentation recipe. As a mom, bonus mom, believer, and a wonderful friend, Morgan is someone who has taught me so many things. She also has a small apparel shop on Etsy, and you can check it out here!
What is Lacto-fermentation?
Despite what may first come to mind when you hear the name it has nothing to do with milk, (LacTOSE) but LactoBACILLUS the extremely gut beneficial probiotic. And despite the long name, the process is much more simple than you might expect, all you need is three ingredients: water, salt, and a vegetable to ferment. Oh and lets not forget the fourth and most important ingredient: TIME
You won’t need any canning equipment, just jars and lids, as the preservation isn’t happening because of a lack of air but a lack of bad bacteria. The bad bacteria naturally found on the vegetables, that causes decay, HATES a high salt content, so the salt kills off this bad bacteria allowing the Lactobacillus bacteria that is also naturally found on the vegetables to thrive, thus leaving you with a gut healthy snack or topping.
Some of my favorite things to ferment are carrots, cucumbers, and jalapenos. This is also the process by which you can make kimchi by adding additional spices and not just salt and water.
I’ll leave you here with my quick and easy lacto-fermented jalapeno recipe:
Equipment:
Medium Pot
Quart mason jar
Tablespoon
Fermentation weight (or something to keep jalapenos submerged in brine)
Fermentation/ burping lid
Ingredients:
1 Quart of water
2.5 Tablespoons of non-iodized (kosher) salt
2 Cups of sliced jalapeno (I usually do them in the round, bout you could also do strips as well)
Instructions:
1) In a pot on the stove heat the quart of water and add in your 2.5 Tablespoons of salt, stir until salt dissolves and remove the pot from the stove allowing your brine to cool.
2) Place your sliced jalapenos in a quart sized canning jar- you can add as many seeds as your family likes for desired spice level.
3) Pour the cooled brine in over the jalapenos and add a weight to the top to keep jalapenos fully submerged.
*note if you have previously lacto-fermented jalapenos you can add in a Tablespoon of your previous brine to help kick off the fermentation process – but this is not necessary.
4) Place a fermenting lid on top and store in a cool dry place for a minimum of 3 days and up to 7 days. I suggest testing them at day 3 to see if they are to your liking. The fermentation process will vary throughout the year depending on the temperature of your house (shorter in the summer months, longer in the winter)
5) Once fermented to your liking, place a lid on the jar and place them in the refrigerator and add as a topping on anything you like!
I hope you learned something here today! I certainly hope to do more fermentation in the future. I know fermented foods can be an acquired taste, but a little palate refinement will help you enjoy these foods that are not only delicious, but are so good for you too!
Remember to head over to Morgan’s Etsy Shop, Heritage Design Co., and grab yourself a ‘chicken tender’ sticker or a ‘Baking Babe’ t-shirt. Leave us a comment here or tag us over on instagram and tell us what you’ve got fermenting right now!
