Fermented Spicy Dill Carrots

[magnanimous_j]

This is an easy way to do some home pickling without having to do huge batches. Also, this is lacto-fermenting, which creates probiotics that are great for gut health. These also taste less salty than vinegar based picklings, but I don't have any actual evidence of that. Also, forgive my terrible photography skills.

Here's what you need:
1- 2 quart wide-mouth mason jar
Airlock kit (I got this one from Fermentools for around 20 dollars and it included a pound of fine sea salt)
Knife, cutting board, etc.
Chlorine-free water
Pickling salt

Ingredients:
3-3.5lb carrots
5 cloves garlic
2 habernero peppers
1/4 medium white onion
1 bunch of dill

Directions:
The equipment doesn't need to be sterilized, but it should be thoroughly cleaned with soapy water. First off, make a quart of 2% brine solution. Use any water that hasn't been treated with chlorine and add salt. In my case, a quart of 2% = 1qt room temperature water with 1tbs + 1.5tsp of Himalayan Sea Salt. Different salts have different formulas. stir until totally dissolved.

Then thinly slice the quarter onion into rings or half moons and put in the bottom of the jar. Then thinly slice the peppers and add them too, seeds included. Give the garlic a rough chop and throw in the jar. Put your hand over the mouth of the jar and give it a good shake. These seasonings are to taste, I happen to like strong tastes, so add garlic and peppers to your preference.

Depending on the size of the carrots, peel them, cut them in half and then either quarter, or third them. Don't bother with pieces that are too thin to be crunchy. Then stuff them in the jar, really work them in there, you'll be surprised at how many more you can fit in when you push down on each one. Depending on the size of the carrots, you can sometimes get 2 full layers in there. This time, the carrots were too big, so I made one solid layer and then cut the rest into 2 inch pieces and stuffed them in. A 2 quart jar can hold a lot of carrots. I ended up adding more than the ones in the picture.

Then add the dill on top of the carrots and fill the jar with the brine solution. Add the glass weight on top to keep all the ingredients below the surface of the brine. Make sure to leave 1" of air in between the solution and the top of the jar. This is extremely important because otherwise the solution will force it's way through the airlock and make a mess of your counter. Affix the airlock top and you're done. You can use water for the airlock, but I use vodka. It adds one more layer of protection and eliminates any odors that might escape through the airlock. You're done! Store the jar somewhere out of direct sunlight and wait 4 days.

Within a day of starting, you should notice bubbles coming up when you give the jar a little tilt. It's not nearly as dramatic as when homebrew beer or wine is working. After a couple days, the brine will turn cloudy.

Four days after starting, the fermenting is done and the carrots are edible. Throw away the dill, swap the airlock top for the regular lid that came with the jar and you can eat them. At this point, the taste is a little harsh, so I put them in the fridge for another 4 days (with regular lid) and that seems to mellow them out.

They will last in the refrigerator for 6 months or more, but I seriously doubt they will make it that long. 

[Fl0und3rz]

That looks pretty freaking good.  Thanks.

[Special T]

Thanks for the share! My wife loves all kinds of canning so ill be trying some soon!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

[CAMPMEAT]

I'll PM you my address and you can send me some, ok ?

That recipe looks really inviting to make...

[NRA4LIFE]

To save a little cash, you can make your own airlock by just buying the plastic airlock and rubber stopper at a wine making store and drilling the right sized hole in the canning lid.  The airlock part is only a couple bucks.

This is an interesting recipe.  Does it get real sour like kraut?

[magnanimous_j]

To save a little cash, you can make your own airlock by just buying the plastic airlock and rubber stopper at a wine making store and drilling the right sized hole in the canning lid.  The airlock part is only a couple bucks.

You could definitely do that. The glass weight is crucial though, it's the perfect size and weight to keep everything under the brine, so it won't mold. So if you are going to DIY, make sure you get one of those too.

This is an interesting recipe.  Does it get real sour like kraut?

No, it's more mild (closer in flavor to a vinegar pickle than a kraut), but it also ferments and ages in a fraction of the time of kraut, so maybe if you let it work longer...

What I like about it, is that months after you make them, they are still crunchy. I did make a batch with 5 haberneros and 3 jalapenos that were almost too hot to eat.

[Bean Counter]

*tag* 

[ribka]

Thanks mags

Love spicy, tangy food.

Project this coming week


Trying to locate a good kim chi, saur kraut recipe

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Will need to try this out!

[magnanimous_j]

Thanks mags

Love spicy, tangy food.

Project this coming week


Trying to locate a good kim chi, saur kraut recipe

Kraut is very easy to make, it just takes forever.

[Fl0und3rz]

Ever had Tru (u with umlaut) pickles?  Probably the very best pickle I have had.  Tastes fermented, with plenty of space.  Oddly, I find them sold in Ace HW stores.

http://www.trupickles.com/

[NRA4LIFE]

We make these type of pickles.  You use no vinegar, just salt, distilled water, garlic and dill.  They have a different taste than vinegar based dills but I love them.  It's basically the same process as Mag's carrots.  We almost always have a gallon jar of them in the fridge.  They ferment in just 4-5 days and then into the fridge to stop the process.

[magnanimous_j]

We make these type of pickles.  You use no vinegar, just salt, distilled water, garlic and dill.  They have a different taste than vinegar based dills but I love them.  It's basically the same process as Mag's carrots.  We almost always have a gallon jar of them in the fridge.  They ferment in just 4-5 days and then into the fridge to stop the process.

what kind of cukes do you use? And do you do them whole, or cut them up?

[NRA4LIFE]

Pickling cucumbers, the same you'd use for vinegar dills.  We grow them in the summer time in our garden but buy them when we can find them other times of the year.  Alton Brown had a show on making these.  I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

[h2ofowlr]

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