by Shannon Stonger
Health Impact News
In the fall we preserve cabbage by making sauerkraut. Salsa and berries are preserved and made better by fermenting them at the height of summer. Spring, with its abundance of colorful, crisp vegetables, spring holds a veritable buffet of vegetables waiting to be fermented into probiotic treats.
Asparagus comes up early as a perennial vegetable. A member of the lily family, its shoot is cut and brought to the table crisp and green. Radishes are one of the quickest spring vegetables to grow – some take only 30 days to fully mature. Both are wonderful candidates for a probiotic and enzyme-rich spring fermented vegetable.
Radishes
Fermenting radishes not only gives them that signature tang of lactic acid fermentation, it also mellows their heat. This makes them kid-friendly and a perfect snack, sandwich add-in, or salad ingredient.
Whole round radishes tend to bob up out of the brine which can lead to undesired mold or uneven fermentation. Slicing them thickly solves this problem nicely and creates a nice crunch when all is said-and-done.
Using a narrow-mouth mason jar works well to keep the vegetables below the brine.
Fermented Radishes with Garlic Scapes
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Himalayan salt
- 4 garlic scapes, cut into 1” lengths (or 2 peeled cloves of garlic)
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 3.5 cups sliced radishes, ¼” thick
- Filtered water, as needed
Directions
- To a clean quart jar add the salt, garlic scapes, and peppercorns. Add the radish slices, packing them in neatly and tightly as you can. Fill the jar with the radishes leaving at least 1” of headspace from the rim of the jar.
- Pour in the water, being sure that the radishes are fully covered by at least ¼” of brine. Place a fermentation weight or thick slice of root vegetable into the jar to weight down the radishes, ensuring that they will stay below the level of the brine.
- Seal the jar with an airtight lid and leave to ferment at room temperature for 6-10 days. During the first few days of fermentation check that the jar is not building up pressure and burp it at least once per day, or as needed, by barely loosening the lid until you hear gas escape and then quickly tightening it back up.
- Once the 6-10 day window has arrived, taste the radishes. If they taste tangy and crisp, they are done. If not, allow them to ferment an additional 4-10 days. The length of time is dependent on the warmth of your space. Once they are fermented to your taste, serve them up or move them to cold storage.
- These will keep in cold storage for several months.
Fresh lemon slices act as a fermentation weight for fermented asparagus.
Asparagus
The easiest way to ferment asparagus is to cut the spears into a length that will just fit below the curve of a jar. These long fermented spears are an elegant addition to a dinner plate and great for snacking right out of the jar. Cooked or fermented, asparagus loves lemon and ginger, and this ferment takes full advantage of that fact.
Using a narrow-mouth mason jar works well to keep the vegetables below the brine.
Fermented Asparagus with Ginger and Lemon
When through fermenting, the brine has turned cloudy – a good sign!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of asparagus (approximately 1 bunch)
- ½ inch round slice of a large, organic lemon
- Thumb-sized piece of organic ginger
- 2 Tablespoons Himalayan salt
- Filtered water, as needed
Directions
- Break off the tougher ends of the asparagus spears. Cut the asparagus so that the tip of the spears will come just below the curve of the jar, about 1” below the rim of the jar. Place these into a quart jar and then take the remaining stems and carefully pack them in between the longer spears.
- Nestle in the piece of ginger and sprinkle in the salt. Pour filtered water over the asparagus until it covers the vegetables by at least ¼”. Take the lemon slice and size it to the opening of the jar. If it doesn’t quite fit, trim off a little of the outer edge until it does. Place the lemon slice into the jar and push down gently until the brine comes above the level of the lemon. The tips of the asparagus spears may bend a little in the process which is fine.
- Seal the jar with an airtight lid and leave to ferment at room temperature for 6-10 days. During the first few days of fermentation check that the jar is not building up pressure and burp it at least once per day, or as needed, by barely loosening the lid until you hear gas escape and then quickly tightening it back up.
- Once the 6-10 day window has arrived, taste the asparagus. If they taste tangy and crisp, they are done. If not, allow them to ferment an additional 4-10 days. The length of time is dependent on the warmth of your space. Once they are fermented to your taste, serve them up or move them to cold storage.
- These will keep in cold storage for several months.
About the Author
Shannon Stonger grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. She studied chemistry in college, graduated, and married her husband one month later. They were then blessed with two baby boys within the first four years of marriage. Having babies gave their family a desire to return to the old paths – to nourish their family with traditional, homegrown foods; rid their home of toxic chemicals and petroleum products; and give their boys a chance to know a simple, sustainable way of life. They are currently building a homestead from scratch on two little acres in central Texas. There’s a lot to be done to become somewhat self-sufficient, but they are debt-free and get to spend their days living this simple, good life together with their four young children.