The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne

Author:Kelly Coyne
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Process
Published: 2010-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

Pickling via Lacto-Fermentation

Back before the advent of canning, much less freezing, folks preserved their vegetable harvest via lacto-fermentation. This process, once commonplace, survives today mostly in the form of sauerkraut and kimchi. Old-fashioned dill pickles are also made this way, though you are probably more familiar with the kind made in vinegar. Lacto-fermentation uses no vinegar at all.

In lacto-fermentation salt is added to vegetables, either by covering them in salty water, or by mixing them with salt to draw out their own juices. Either way, the vegetable ends up soaking in salty liquid. Lactic microbial organisms (the same beasties that spoil milk) take hold in this environment and make it so acidic that the bacteria that causes food to spoil cannot live there. The result is a pickled food that will keep without canning or refrigeration, although canning and refrigeration do extend the shelf life.

Just about any firm, sturdy vegetable can be lacto-fermented. Radishes, cucumbers, cabbage, baby onions, green beans, carrots, garlic cloves all would work. All you have to do is pack a canning jar or crock with your veggies and cover them with a brine solution and leave it somewhere dark and cool. A recipe follows. After four to seven days, try your pickles. If you like them, start eating, or put them away to ferment a little longer. Fermenting time varies by taste, vegetable, weather and your patience level.

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