Fermented Brined Garlic Carrots

Valarie Andrews has provided us with a great recipe on how to ferment Brined Garlic Carrots.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs organic carrots (don’t peel them, just rinse them) sliced into 1/2 inch coins

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 Tbsp Himalayan crystal salt or Redmond real salt                                                         

kale or cabbage leaf

4 cups water

How to do it:

1. Fill a 1 litter mason jar with garlic and carrot coinsDissolve salt in water; pour over carrots and garlic until brine-height reaches the shoulder of the jar ( this is where the jar starts to turn in towards the neck of the jar)

2. Place kale or cabbage leaf in jar on top the carrots

3. Using a spoon, press leaf and carrots under brine to remove any air pockets. If required, add extra brine to fill jar to the beginning of the neck of jar. Brine should extend 1-inch above carrots and leaf.  You may have to press the veggies under the brine a couple of times over the first few days.

4. Place the lid on the jar and close gently, not too tight. Ideal fermenting temperature is 68 - 72°F; Ferment for 5 - 10 days and then move to refrigerator. Tasting during the fermentation time is to be encouraged! This way you will find out when your carrots are “fermented to your taste”.

5. During the earliest stages of fermentation you will have to “burp” your jar if you are not using an airlock. Do this daily – gently unscrew the lid until you hear a small amount of the gas escaping and then screw the lid back on. CO2 builds up in the jar during the fermentation process. It is important to allow a bit of the gas to escape as the pressure build up can cause the jar to explode(this very rarely happens, but is a possiblity if you ignore your ferment). Eventually the formation of carbon dioxide will slow down and you won’t have to burp the jar any longer. You will know when this happens because the lid will no longer be expanding.

ENJOY!!

Check out more of Val's fermentation genius at https://www.theharvestpantry.com/