BASIC FERMENTING AND PICKLING OF VEGETABLES

Fermenting and pickling is becoming more and more popular as a freelance chef I try to incorporate new flavours and ideas into our private dinning menus and pickling and fermenting ingredients creates some great flavours with people

realising the health benefits from

fermented and pickled foods, basic

fermenting and pickling is very easy and can result in fantastic flavours using basic vegetables and the addition of some herbs and spices and are great for a snack to have in the store cupboard. And as you

get more confident you can try adding

different flavours and different vegetables

so here's a couple of basic recipes to start of with.

Basic fermented vegetable recipe

This recipe is a very easy and simple start to fermenting and and you can use any vegetables.

Ingredients

536g vegetables of choice either cut into batons or florets

2tbsp sea salt

500ml water

Method

1) Once you have cut your vegetables place in an jar, mix your water and salt together and cover your vegetables and place the lid on top.

2) for the first 4-5 days you will need to burb your vegetables at least once a day this means releasing the excess co2 after 5th day they will be ready to eat you can leave them for as long as you like depending on how strong you want the flavour to be, you can also add flavours to this recipe adding a chilli to the jar or a table spoon of grated ginger to the vegetables to add a different twist.

Bread and butter pickles

This is a fantastic recipe if like me your not keen on plain cucumber but love it pickled again very easy to do and is a great way to add flavour to your burgers and sandwiches or just as a snack.

Ingredients

1 large onion thick sliced

2tbsp sea salt

300ml cider vinegar

140g caster sugar

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

2tbsp mustard seed

400g cucumber thick sliced

Method

1) Mix the vinegar, caster sugar, and spices together in a pan place on a low heat to dissolve the sugar then remove and leave to cool.

2) Place the onion and cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and leave for 2 hours.

3) After 2 hours wash the salt of the cucumber and the onion and place in a jar and cover with the pickling liquor place a lid on top and leave for a day or 2 then there ready to use.

Liam Foster is freelance chef and consultant for the hospitality sector with over 25 years worth of experience in 4-5 star hotels and restaurants around the world and now offering a freelance relief chef service and private dining service uk wide.