Lacto Ferment-ation

Lacto fermentation is the method used in making authentic dill pickles, kimchi, yogurt and sour kraut. The process of lacto fermenting is when (good) bacteria breaks down sugars in food to form lactic acid. Salt is the magic (and only) ingredient needed to ferment (practically) anything your heart desires. The resulting vegetables (or fruit) you ferment will be chock full of the probiotic known as loactobactilius. Get creative and enjoy your fermenting journey.

Ingredients:

• Salt - 1 - 3 tablespoons 

• Filtered Water - 1 quart 

• Vegetable of your choice - washed and cut up into your desired size.

Supplies:

• Mason Jar - Quart

• Measuring Spoons

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Recipe:

1. Prepare the jars

   • Throughly clean and rinse with hot water. (Hot water is needed to kill off any lingering bacteria that may be present, this is not the bacteria we want to help us ferment.)

   • Let the jars air dry while you prepare the veggies, no need to towel dry, that tends to spread more bacteria, also our jars are going to be filled with water, so they don’t need to be dry.

2. Prepare the veggies

   • Start by washing your ingredients

   • Next peel, dice, chop or just leave whole. This is fully up to you and your end goal. We did a little bit of each with our veggies 

3. Assemble the jars

   • Add the prepared ingredients into the clean jars.

   • Fill with filtered water, just enough to cover the veggies (Do not over fill -the fermenting process produced gases and will make an over filled jar overflow.)

   • Add 1 - 3 tablespoons of salt - with a more mild flavored/ less dense veg use 1 table spoon, for a vegetable that had a waxier skin and hearty body, use 2-3 tablespoons.

   • Finally seal the jar with a clean lid.

4. Mix it up

   • Give the jar a good shake so the salt dissolves

   • Place on a shelf and let it settle

   • Check every few days and give it a shake. Feel free to give it a taste along the way, taste at least weekly. 

5. Check on your creation

   • Depending on what your desired outcome is, it could take anywhere from 3 - 30 days of fermenting at room temperature. Once you're pleased with your fermented goodies pop them in the fridge, they will continue to get funkier, but at a much slower pace while in refrigeration.

   Something WE Learned: If you see mold growing on the surface of your liquid, you can spoon it out and keep on fermenting. The presence of salt in the brine kills any dangerous bacteria.