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...

Pickl-It party

Have you ever wondered what 25 pounds of tomatoes, 3 pounds of basil, and 10 pounds of beets look like? Wonder no more...

My good friend Susan told me about a great deal her CSA is having right now, and I just had to get in on it with her. So with plans to do some freezing and lacto-fermenting, we signed ourselves up for these insane amounts of produce.

This morning was our Pickl-It party, which is really just a fancy way of saying "hey, let's do this together so that maybe the kids will keep each other occupied long enough for us to make a dent in these huge quantities." The box of tomatoes and the bag of basil are all mine (Susan got her own) and we decided to split the beets between us.

Phase 1 of the plan is to peel and slice/grate the beets and throw them into Pickl-Its for yummy, lacto-fermented pickled beets - they're probiotic! Phase 2 is to process the basil with olive oil and freeze in small portions for quick pesto-making and sauce-seasoning all winter long. And finally, phase 3 of the plan is to core and freeze the tomatoes for use in stews and sauces this winter (because anything in a can is bad, but canned tomatoes are especially unhealthy due to their acidity which leeches even more BPA; jarred tomatoes are really expensive).

Were we insane to think we could plow through 10 pounds of the beets in 3 hours while the 2 toddlers and an almost-1-year-old played, and the baby slept? Maybe. Other than a few scuffles over tinker toys and blocks, and meeting the expected needs of the younger two, we did make some progress. We were able to wash and peel about half of the beets. Don't they look like rubies?

This is my hand - after scrubbing with soap, even.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me this afternoon...the food processor will get a nice workout. It's also a good thing we found a freezer on Craigslist - the basil and tomatoes will be nice and cozy with the 1/4 grass-fed cow and 25 gallons of raw milk we put in it last week. Dreaming of getting a food dehydrator now...

Probiotic Pickles

After reading this post my mouth was watering for pickles. And not only are lacto-fermented pickles tasty, but they are loaded with health benefits.

“The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anti carcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.” – Sally Fallon, co-author of Nourishing Traditions (Here is more interesting info if you're interested.)

While picking up groceries at the co-op last night I saw organic pickling cucumbers, so I grabbed some along with the spices called for in the recipe at the link above (so thankful for my new smart phone! It was easy finding this recipe while standing in the produce department.)



After getting the girls down for their afternoon nap I got to work. Maybe "work" isn't the right word, because it was actually super easy and fun - kind of a cross between making a cake from a boxed mix and playing Tetris. Seriously.



I had bought the 10 or so dry spices in bulk, so each was in its own little baggie and required dumping into a bowl (out of the 5+ cups it made, the recipe only calls for 2 Tbs per 4lbs of cukes.) In another bowl I mixed the salt and water together for the brine. And then after washing the pickling cucumbers and cutting up an onion came the fun part: packing them into the Pickl-It jars Tetris-style.

I had enough cucumbers to fill four 1.5 liter jars so I adjusted the rest of the recipe accordingly, and before I knew it the jars were filled.

"Really? That's it?" I thought to myself. "That was sure easy!"

Now for the most difficult part of this whole process...waiting until they're done :)