These carrots give you the crunch of pickles with the benefits of fermentation from good bacteria! They last for a year in cold storage.
Much like my Probiotic Pickles, Marius enjoys the taste of fermented carrots! He's just not a huge fan of the vinegar taste of pickling, so if that's you, too, go for these. They are snappy and crisp and will keep in the fridge or root cellar for up to a year.
Serve these up with Venison Sloppy Joe sandwiches for a quick lunch. Add to a charcuterie board with olives, homemade cheese and Seedy Crackers.
Key Ingredients
Carrots - There's no need to peel, but you certainly can if you prefer. Just make sure and wash well.
Additions - I like mustard seeds, peppercorns, and coriander.
Brine - Make a salt water brine.
How to Make Probiotic Carrots
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Make a salt water brine.
Step 2: Add seeds and garlic to the jar and then pack in carrots.
Step 3: Find a large cabbage or horseradish leaf and fold.
Step 4: Use the leaf to ensure the carrots are below the brine.
FAQs
Air is the enemy here. You must ensure your vegetables are submerged completely during the process, until ready to eat. This means using a weight (they sell glass ones or if you have smooth rocks you can clean and use) - but you can also easily use horseradish or grape leaves. Rocks are heavy but with the leaves you can use them to wedge into the shoulder of the jar to keep things below the brine. They of course want to float in the salty water so keep an eye on things.
The brine in the jar will cloud up some and that's when you know the bacteria is working. You can start tasting them after 4 days. The longer they ferment, the more sour they taste. We err on the side of "not too sour" because we store them for a long time. The fermentation never stops, but it will slow down once you move them to cold storage.
Keep the weight in the jar and tighten the lid once you are satisfied with the taste. Then move to a cold storage room or pop in the fridge. They will keep there for 6-12 months as long as they don't get too warm. Once you start eating from the jar you can keep the weight out of it.
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Fermented Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots washed well
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon whole peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 tablespoons salt non-iodized
- 2 cups filtered water non-chlorinated
Instructions
- Cut carrots into sticks or if you’d like, coins.
- Pick a quart jar that has ‘shoulders’ to help you keep your vegetables below the brine. Small mouth quarts have shoulders, and some wide mouths do but not all.
- In the bottom of the jar, add mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds and fresh garlic cloves.
- Stuff carrots into the jar.
- Use a horseradish or grape leaf or one of the other ideas to keep them submerged - this is very important to keep it from going moldy (see notes).
- Put a lid on and don't crank it on unless your fermentation weight requires that. If you can leave the lid loose you won't need to burp it. Let them sit on counter, on a baking sheet or plate in case they overflow, for 4-7 days.
- Once the brine is cloudy you know that fermentation is doing its thing! Make sure pickles stay submerged this whole time. You can start tasting them on day 4; only leave longer if you like them really sour. We err on the side on less sour since we are storing them for up to a year.
- Tighten the lid,, move to fridge or cool room and they keep 6-12 months. Once we want to eat them, the fermentation weight comes out and doesn't need to go back in.
Notes
- The Fermented Food Lab has a lot of great ideas on how to ferment safely, including keeping the food below the brine.
- Move to cold storage, after tightening the lid, when they have reached the sour level you like.
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