Fermented green tomatoes
It's easier than you think to make fermented green tomatoes: these zesty gems are a crunchy and probiotic-packed delight, perfect as a snack, condiment, or side dish!
Equipment
- 1 jar approximately 750 ml to 1 l capacity with screw or rubber seal lid
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 funnel optional
- 1 scale
- 1 measuring jug (optional, reuse a clean water bottle with known capacity, for example 1 liter)
Ingredients
- 600 g green or unripe tomatoes
- 2 medium carrots optional, sliced in batons (peeled and no blemishes)
- 25 g salt
- 1 liter water
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 2 tsp nigella seeds
- 3 small chili chunks (optional, add more or less depends on how spicy you like it)
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Remove the stalks from the tomatoes and give them a good wash in cold water.
- Wash the carrots under cold running water if using them. Remove the tops and root ends and peel them.
- Slice the carrots in 0.5 cm batons and approximately 10 cm in length.
Prepare the garlic and chili
- Peel the garlic and set aside. Make sure your garlic is nice and plump and has no blemishes. You can cut the dark end if you want but it is not necessary.
- I sliced the garlic in thick slices for this recipe, but you can totally use whole peeled garlic cloves.
- I used a frozen cayenne chili pepper that I bought at farmers market and put in the freezer. But if you are using fresh, make sure it is clean, give it a rinse under cold running water.
- Chop as much chili as you would like, I used a few small chunks as this cayenne is very hot 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.
Stuff the fermentation jar
- Start by laying a few garlic cloves, chili and a generous sprinkle of nigella seeds.
- Continue to stuff the jar with the green tomatoes.
- Stand the carrot batons on the sides of the jar and vertically through the tomatoes.
- Add the remaining garlic and nigella seeds as you fill the jar.
- Wedge a few slices of carrots at the top so as to keep everything from rising up.
Prepare the brine
- Add 25 g of salt to one liter of cold water and swirl to dissolve.
- Pour the brine carefully over the veggies until they are fully covered.
Fermentation stage
- Make sure there is no space left in the jar at the top then close the lid loosely. Important: remove the rubber seal to allow gas to escape during fermentation!
- Set the jar aside at room temperature, but not too close to a hot spot.
- The liquid will become a little cloudy from day 2 onwards.
Burping your fermented green tomatoes (yes you heard it right LOL)
- You need to "burp" the brine daily. Use a large diameter stainless steel straw if you have one, but can use any disposable drink straws.
- Blow gently to form bubbles in the brine careful not to spill the brine over.
- This will help with the lacto - fermentation. Taste the brine after day 3 and the green tomatoes after day 5, to make sure you are happy with the taste.
- It will take between 7 days and 14 days to achieve a pleasant sourness and a slight fizz, depending on the temperature of the kitchen.
How to store your fermented green tomatoes
- After 7 days (or even up to 14 days), if you are happy with the level of sourness, store the jar in the fridge.
- Every time you serve it, take some veggies out of the brine with clean utensils and place the jar back in the fridge immediately.
Video
Notes
You can also slice the carrots as you stuff the jar, that way you only slice what you need. You may not use all of them, use the leftovers in a soup or salad later! Or just freeze them to avoid waste!
Important: remove the rubber seal to allow gas to escape during fermentation!
You may wonder what type of salt to use, but I found that it really doesn't matter if you are using Kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt. I just use ordinary table salt and it works like a treat! 🫶 [convertkit form=5652602]
You may wonder what type of salt to use, but I found that it really doesn't matter if you are using Kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt. I just use ordinary table salt and it works like a treat! 🫶 [convertkit form=5652602]
Nutrition
Calories: 16kcal
Tried this recipe?Tag me @candyflossiecooks on Instagram! I'd love to see how your dish turns out ! ✨