Fermenting Vegetables

 

This time of year as summer begins to fade slowly into fall the summer vegetables roll in through that back door daily. Snap beans, okra, squash, cucumbers and peppers. All those heat loving vegetables that I used to, in days of old, pickle endlessly. These days though we rarely eat pickles. Instead we prefer to eat less and ferment a few jars to keep in the refrigerator until they are gone. We enjoy that crisp fresh taste as opposed to the vinegar pickles of old. And we find that they are better for you. 

I start with a clean half gallon jar and disinfect with boiling water.

 I wash my vegetables with cold water and cut off the blossom end of cucumbers and squash and trim stems on okra.

 I took the end off of the green beans and sliced some peppers an onions, Think more chunks so that they could be gotten out of the jar easier but you could do smaller slices.

 I layered the fresh dill with the vegetables in the jar until about 2 inches from top.

 I mixed a brine of 3 Tablespoons sea salt to 1 quart distilled water and mix well until salt is dissolved.

 Pour this over the vegetables in the jar to cover. It will take more than 1. Then I take a small ziploc bag and put brine in bag removing air from bag as much as possible.

 Place bag of water on top of vegetables and brine to hold the veggies under the brine. 

Then I take a clean ring and lid and place on jar and finger tighten. 

Everyday I loosen the lid and burp the air from the jar. Then tighten the lid back down finger tight. Wash the jar and place the jar back in a glass baking dish in case it leaks. 

I let it sit on the counter after about 5 days I will taste if it is to my liking. Once I like the taste I put it in the fridge to stop the fermentation process. Keep if refrigerated and enjoy. 

The longer it ferments the softer the vegetables get. I like my vegetables to be a little crunchy. 

They should last 6 to 8 weeks in the fridge if not longer. 

There are lots of sites and videos out there on fermenting but that is the basics. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter