Fermenting
Fermented Garden Salsa
A tangy, lacto-fermented salsa — same safe method as the pickles, just applied to a fresh garden salsa. The salt draws out the vegetables' own liquid, so no added brine needed.
Ingredients
- 3 cups diced Roma or paste tomatoes
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 jalapeños, diced (seeds in or out, to taste)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt or pickling salt (non-iodized)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (added after fermenting)
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (added after fermenting)
Steps
- Combine and salt. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, garlic, and salt. Mix well and let sit 10-15 minutes — the salt starts pulling liquid out.
- Pack the jar. Massage or stir for a minute to release more liquid. Pack into a clean jar, pressing down so liquid rises above the solids.
- Ensure full submersion. If not enough liquid released, add a splash of water. Use a fermentation weight to keep everything pressed under the liquid.
- Set to ferment. Loosely cover so gases can escape. Set on a plate, out of direct sunlight, at room temperature.
- Ferment 2-4 days. Check daily for bubbling. Skim any harmless white film. Start tasting on day 2.
- Add cilantro, lime, and refrigerate. Once tangy to taste, stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Seal and refrigerate.
Notes
Why cilantro and lime go in after fermenting: fresh herbs can turn dull over days of fermentation, and lime's brightness is best added fresh rather than mellowed by the ferment.
Keep the mixture fully submerged under its own liquid the whole time, same as with pickles.
This ferments faster than whole pickles since everything's chopped small — usually ready in 2-4 days.