Make Your Own Cultured Condiments

Eating live cultured foods at every meal can seem like a challenge at times, but using naturally lacto-fermented condiments makes this task simpler. Whether it's fruit chutney on your hot cereal, chips with salsa and guacamole, or even your salad dressing, naturally cultured condiments are easy to make and easy to use.

1. Mayonnaise

Whether for sandwiches or in a potato, egg, or tuna salad, naturally lacto-fermented mayonnaise gives a probiotic kick to your favorite dish:    

2. Ketchup

Get ready to dip your French fries in naturally cultured ketchup goodness:

3. Mustard

Get creative with a wide variety of naturally fermented mustards.  Here are a few recipes to get you started:

4. Hot Sauce

Spice up your foods with these naturally fermented sauces:

5. Horseradish

Add more spiciness with lacto-fermented horseradish

6. Pickles

Add some crunch to your sandwich while also eating a naturally cultured food:

7. Chutney Fruit chutney is so versatile.  Try it on hot cereal, vegetables, meat and more:

8. Relish

Go beyond just pickle relish with these creative ideas:

9. Salsa

Chips and salsa can take on a healthier twist with these naturally fermented salsa recipes:

      

10. Guacamole

Thick, creamy and delicious, guacamole makes a wonderful addition to a meal and with these easy recipes, you can add a probiotic kick:

11. Salad Dressing

Salad's make such easy meals and incorporating your favorite cultured foods is easy.  These recipes include options for using yogurt, kefir, buttermilk and even kombucha:

NOTE:  Fermenting food is SO EASY, sea salt, water, herbs & spices are all you need....I got carried away last year and fermented everything that held still.    These crispy veggies just burst with flavor and offer plenty of crunch.  I particularly enjoyed.

pickles
hot chiles
beets
garlic with everything
onions/carrots

click on the title link to take you to the site, they offer an amazing array of goodies!

 

How To Ferment Your Garden

A wonderful way to use oversized zucchinis!

Of all the vegetables that seem to overrun the garden, zucchini seems to be the most ubiquitous. What to do with these green beasts becomes the butt of every summer gardening joke. Drop a basket of zucchini off at a fellow-gardening neighbor’s home and you’re bound to be laughed at.

All of this is because, frankly, you can only eat so much sautéed zucchini and zucchini bread in the height of the growing season. Canning zucchini tends to result in a few problems. For one, it ends up fairly mushy and unappetizing. For another, the canning process simply kills any of the good stuff that existed in the zucchini to begin with.

But if you’ve got too much zucchini then you must figure out a way to use it and fast. One great option is fermenting it. You can make zucchini pickles similar to lacto-fermented cucumber pickles. Or, if you want something a little different, try this recipe for grated zucchini “kraut”.

It is a great addition to salads, makes a perfect condiment, and is the simplest of ferments to make. Get your children involved in shredding the zucchini and all you’ve got to do is salt it and pack it.

Ingredients:

• Large zucchinis (feel free to use the oversized ones, just grate around the most seeded areas)
• Sea salt

Directions:
Grate your zucchini. Pack about 1/2 cup into your quart jar. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat the 1/2 cup grated zucchini and sea salt until you reach 1.5 inches from the top of the jar.
Place lid on jar and allow to ferment for 2-5 days, depending on the temperature. Be sure to “burp” your jar every day by simply unscrewing the lid and allowing the gas to escape.

NOTE:  Many dogs enjoy the heck out of fermented veggies & fruit.......if not for yourself, try it for your pooches and save on buying probiotics!