Sunday, July 24, 2011

Pickl-It Lacto-Fermented Cherry Chutney

I finally decided to give lacto-fermented fruit chutney a try again after a miserably failed attempt in a mason jar about 3 years ago. The result was a super moldy mango chutney, which I had spent so much time and money on, and it scared me from even considering another try with fruit until now.  I have my friend, Beth, to thank - she's the one who reminded me of fruit chutney, and got me all fired up to try again with her drool-worthy ideas of combinations like pineapple and cilantro (yum!).



It was really hard choosing which to start with, but I finally chose the cherry chutney recipe from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.  I don't bother with fermenting in mason jars anymore, due to the mold and questionable bacteria issues - I threw away too much money on bad batches with that method.  So I made a few slight adjustments to the recipe for my Pickl-It: I omitted the whey (it's unnecessary in the anaerobic environment of the Pickl-It jars) and used the classic 3.6% brine solution when measuring the salt (1/2 Tbs per 1 C of water...so it really wasn't that far off of Sally's recipe.)

I used one pound each of Rainier cherries and red cherries, and most of them fit perfectly in a 1-Liter Pickl-It jar (a few cherries were moldy, and I ate about a handful as I cut out the pits :) 


After gently pressing the cherries down with my handy-dandy kraut pounder, I licked it to see what cherries, orange zest/juice, coriander, clove, rapadura, and salt would taste like together.  YUM!!  I only wish this jar were 5-Liters instead of just 1...I have a feeling this stuff will be gobbled up fast when it's done!

Like I always say, waiting for the lactic-acid bacteria to do their job is the hardest part...

4 comments:

  1. Alyssa - How important (or not) is keeping your fermenting vessels in the dark? I'm sure direct sunlight wouldn't be good, but what about normal daylight?
    Thanks,
    Laurel

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  2. Hi! It's important to cover your jar because lactic-acid bacteria are light-sensitive, and those are the guys we really want to preserve! So I always push mine into a corner on my counter and wrap/drape them with a towel or two so all of the glass is covered. Be sure not to cover the airlocks, though.

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  3. How important is the orange zest? Can you make it without?

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    Replies
    1. It adds depth to the flavor, so it's nice to have but you certainly don't need it. Good luck, and enjoy!

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