Tiptoeing toward ferments

I finally felt daring enough to try the fermented salsa I made. I was a little apprehensive - not only because I don’t really like the ferment flavor (though with the diet change I’m learning to!) - but it had gotten a little mold on it because I didn’t keep all the stuff down below the liquid. I now know the cabbage end trick (using a cabbage chunk to push down all the chunky pieces.) But given the assurance that what was in the liquid should be fine, I scraped off the moldy bits and put it in the fridge. There is nothing hard about fermenting. For this salsa I merely dumped in a glass jar a little bit of salsa I had made, screwed the lid on tight, and let it sit at room temperature for 3 days. I didn’t even add any whey since there was already plenty of acid from the lemon juice, jalepeños, and tomatoes, and salt for flavor. And finally, after a week of it looking at me from the fridge door, I pulled it out and tasted a little bit on a cheese chip.

And...?

It wasn’t too bad actually. It tasted like salsa, just with more of a buzz and a tang and less of a burning jalepeño aftertaste. Different, but not so terrible that I couldn’t get used to it. I figure I'll dump a bunch on taco salad tomorrow.

I also ate a little of my sauerkraut. That almost tasted good! I learned from a friend of mine that if you put it thru the processor (which is MUCH faster!) it also gives it a better flavor. Seasonings help too. I tried out garlic and oregano in this batch. I think I’ll be able to get used to it and learn to really enjoy it. And eat my probiotics!

What are you fermenting?