Lacto-fermented peppers

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Here's a recipe from my friend Arlene that we've been enjoying for years. This year, my friend Harry harvested a lovely variety of peppers from his garden and was kind enough to share some with me. These are tasty on a saltine or any cracker of your choice.

Lacto-fermented peppers
1/2 peck sweet peppers

1/2 peck hot peppers

Cut into 1/4 rings or cracker size squares. I usually

cut the hot peppers into rings and

the sweet peppers into squares.

1 cup sea salt

3/4 cup water

1 quart Apple cider vinegar (live)

1 pint EVOO

3 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 cup oregano

Mix well. Let stand over night.

Pack into jars. Seal tightly. Store in a cool dark place.

The beauty of this recipe is that no canning is required. The ingredients meld together in a crisp, warmly tangy brine. Because I'm using active cider with the mother, there are enzymes at work making this sort of a pepper kimchi...a lacto-fermented food. To further the enzyme activity, I've added a bit of whey from my last batch of yogurt cheese to the refrigerator jar on the left. Because of the whey, this jar will need to be refrigerated or stored in a cool root cellar after fermenting at room temperature for 3 days.

I've just added this post to Real Food Forager's Probiotic Challenge.

Fight Back Fridays blog carnival hosted by Food Renegade.

and Fermentation Friday where they are celebrating Traditional Foods!

4 Comments:

English Vintner said...[Reply]: Can I make it without hot peppers? The only reason I say this is because I only grew sweet and bell peppers. : )

Maybe add some pepper flakes if I want more of a spice?; November 6, 2010 9:15 AM
EOMONROE said...[Reply]: i am looking to start fermenting veggies, is the braggs apple cidar vingar live? can i pour some live kraut on top to get the bacteria going?; May 21, 2011 2:02 PM
Wanderer said...[Reply]: @EOMONROE Yes, Braggs is live. The idea is that you need to get the "good" bacteria going fairly quickly so the bad ones can't jump in and take over. It's a hand-on learning experience. If it smells bad or gets slimy, throwit away and start over. :); May 21, 2011 2:21 PM
Wanderer said...[Reply]: @English Vintner Sorry Zach, I think I posted this one intending to get back to it and never did. You could do it just as well with sweet ones. Then the skies the limit for adding the spices of choice! Maybe a sweet/hot marinade with live cultures or whey?; May 21, 2011 2:24 PM

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This journal is about my quest for herbal healing, whole foods and becoming more self sustaining. Any medicinal references mentioned here are strictly for educational purposes based on my research, empirical evidence, experiments and herbal lore but not intended as medical advice of any kind. Herbs can be helpful allies in maintaining good health but they can be powerful medications that should be treated with respect. Used improperly, they can cause adverse reactions, interfere with pharmaceuticals, and even cause death. Hopefully anything you read here will encourage you to do your own research and speak with your health care professional to determine the situation before treating yourself or anyone else.