Fermented Carrots

We have been harvesting carrots lately and since we don’t have a way to freeze them we are constantly looking for canning ideas/recipes. Since they are a low acid food, straight up canning is not something I usually do for carrots since the long processing time takes away too much of the flavor and crunchiness. I pickle most of them similar to a dill pickle with garlic and fresh dill, or sweet/sour version. I also have been doing small batches of fermented carrots. After the fermenting takes place at room temperature, it has to go into the fridge.. which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but we only have a dorm sized fridge so having a quart jar in there is asking a lot.. but I will make room for these beauts one jar at a time. I made the recipe very general.. use your imagination when it comes to what to add in. I made some turmeric and ginger ones the other day and they are about gone so now I’m making a batch with oregano, purple onion and garlic (it’s what was ready in the garden). So let’s do this..

Fermented Carrot Sticks

Things you need:

• Quart canning Jar (washed and sterilized in boiling water)

• Fermenting lid (easily found on Amazon or kitchen shops and the like) Washed and sterilized too.

• Roughly 1/2 pound of fresh carrots cup into sticks (I just wash them- I don’t peel)

• Fresh herbs (or dried).. oregano, basil, thyme, dill, rosemary or turmeric

• Fresh garlic or onions or ginger

• 2 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Directions:

1. Put a small bunch of herbs (or teaspoon of dried) in jar and 1/8” slices of garlic or the like (roughly 2 cloves garlic or half of a small onion or 1” piece of ginger).

2. Pack carrots into jar until they are tightly wedged.. really cram em’ in there. Make sure they don’t come within 2” of the top. If you don’t have them crammed in there you will need a pickle weight (a glass disk or other random object you can sterilize to keep the food from getting to the surface).

3. Mix 2 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt together and pour over the carrots until they are completely submerged by at least 1/2”.

4. Put on fermenting lid and store jar at room temp in a dark spot.

Within 24 hours you will see bubbling and froth at the top of the jar.. totally normal. After three days- give or take you are good to go. If you have mold growing- chuck it out. If not, put a regular lid on and store in the refrigerator… but not before you taste them! It will have unique taste and super good for your gut too (probiotics and all). They will become more flavorful as time goes on as they sit in the fridge. Also, if you like heat, try popping in some slices of jalapeños before the carrots.

Although this should go in a different spot, I’m going to add it here while I’m on carrots. If you seem to have a hard time growing them, try growing them in a raised bed with a lot of sand mixed in (if you have heavy or clay soil). Good drainage is important too.. which is another benefit of raised beds. If you already have sandy soil and can’t grow them, I don’t know what to tell you other than you need to add organic material (compost and the like). We try to get two plantings in a year.. depending on weather. Also, I tried to grow dill with the carrots this year because I had read that the dill helps the carrots, but by the time the dill was taking off the carrots were already choking it out.. so maybe next time I’ll either start the dill sooner in place so it’s bigger or transplant bigger plants to start with. Gardening is all about timing and some good educated guessing on your part. You can’t win em’ all.. clearly I can’t, but I learn something new every time. Sometimes the same thing over and over because I forget lol.