LACTO-FERMENTED CHERRY TOMATOES

Cherry tomatoes make a wonderfully tasty, effervescent ferment!

 

Ingredients for  LACTO-FERMENTED CHERRY TOMATOES
	Yield: 4 cups
Salt, Non-Iodised	15g
Whey*	30g
Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh, Firm	500g
*If you don’t add whey, add 10g extra salt instead

 

METHOD: 

1.  Rinse tomatoes and drain.

2.  Measure salt into a clean 1 litre (quart/4 cup capacity) glass jar. Add enough warm water to dissolve the salt. Set aside to cool water to room temperature.

3.  Add whey (if using).

4.  Add spices (if using - see NOTES below).

5.  Add tomatoes (including any garlic/herbs, if using - see NOTES below) to fill the jar up to about 5cm from the rim.

6.  Cover tomatoes with filtered room temperature water.

7.  Weigh tomatoes down to keep them submerged during fermentation.

8.  Cover jar with a cloth/elastic band  OR  hinged lid  OR  airlock lid. Set aside on the bench to ferment at room temperature for 3-4 days or until desired flavour has been reached (we recommend using hinged jars and fermenting for around 7 days).

Remember to release any gas from the jar daily if using a hinged jar.

9.  Taste tomatoes. When you like the flavour, pop the jar into the refrigerator (with an airtight lid).

10.  Enjoy your fermented cherry tomatoes immediately, or set aside in the refrigerator and consume within 4-5 months. We recommend serving them after a week or so.

Remember to release any gas from the jar that has built up, even whilst being refrigerated.

 

NOTES:

You can add one or several/all of the following, if you like:

o  3-4 garlic cloves, peeled;

o  2-3 fresh basil leaves;

o  1 sprig fresh parsley;

o  1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

o  1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds

o  1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

o  Bruschetta flavour: add basil leaves, a couple of oregano leaves and garlic.

 

Author: Megan Radaich          

Image Credit: Megan Radaich          

Publication: www.foodpreserving.org