Fermented fennel is a transformation of common fennel like you ’ve never tasted before . Fermented fennel is milder , yet still crunchy and is a great condiment to add to your dinner table gap .
Fennel is a very versatile vegetable that many enjoygrowing in their garden . It can be enjoy raw or cooked . It adds freshness to soups , salads , stews , pastas , marinade and more . All parts of it can be eaten , the frond , stalks , and bulb . The fronds have a bite more of a citrus flavor and the stalking and bulb have a mild anise flavor , which if you are n’t conversant with anise , you may bang it as the flavor of sinister licorice .
Fermented Fennel Recipe
Yield : 1 pint
1 lb . fennel , thinly slice up
4 modest Florence fennel fronds
10 dark whole peppercorns
1 garlic clove , crushed
1 dried bay leaf
2 tsp . freshly squeezed orange tree succus
2 pieces of orange peel , no heart and soul
Brine : 2 tsp . coarse kosher salt mixed with 1 cup of water .
Cut the bulb from the fore and book the theme and fronds off to the side . Place the light bulb on its side and cut away the root end , throwing away . launder the common fennel and peel away any blemished or bruised part . remain firm the bulb on the theme end and cut it in half . put down the halves down flat and thinly slice up the fennel into ¼-1/8 ” slices .
Wash fronds and trim off 4 or so to add to the ferment .
compact the fennel into a clean pint jar , beginning with the ail and peppercorn , then tuck the embayment foliage gently on the side of the jar , so not to crush it and take the jar with the sliced fennel and fronds . Add in the orange juice and peel .
Mix the brine ingredients together until the table salt is dissolved and pour the saltwater over the green groceries until everything is whole overwhelm . Be sure to leave ½-1 - in of headspace from the brine degree to the lip of the jar .
If you have a small-scale fermentation jar system of weights , add it to the jar to keep the ingredients altogether submerged under the brine . Remove any small composition of food that float up to the top of the brine .
clean house the brim of the jounce with a damp paper towel to dispatch any food or brine from the rim . Apply the canning jar lid and tightly screw on the eyelid .
Fermentation
This is a 10 - to-14 - day ferment , or longer if needed . fermentation at way temperature , ideally between 60 - 75 ° F ( 15 - 23 ° C ) and keep out of direct sunlight . Check on the ferment daily to check that the brine stay over the green goods . This is a crucial footstep in all vegetable fermentation , as any green groceries above the seawater is prone to modeling .
If the produce is above the brine , use a sporting utensil to push the produce back down below the brine . eruct the jar day by day – unscrew the lid shortly and tighten it back on to give up any built - up gas to release ( and annul jar break ) .
After one week , taste - test the ferment fennel to see how it ’s coming along . It will belike need to sour over one week unless the quad you are fermenting in is on the warmer side . If the fermented common fennel still tastes raw , earmark it to sour a few more days and savor test again until it obtains a lemony , fermented flavor . conveyance to the refrigerator once fermented to your liking , with the seawater and all .
The fermented fennel will last nigh indefinitely however the grain and savour will continue to commute . agitation does not stop once refrigerate , it just slows way down . This zymolysis is best enjoyed within 6 month .
Fermented Fennel Side Notes
If you do not have a deoxyephedrine jar weight , you may improvize by using an easily removable small food - grade glass dish that suit inside the jounce . Or , if you have a smaller glass canning jar that can fit into the mouth of the jar you are fermenting with , you could apply that to keep the produce crowd under the brine .
If you are unsure if your water is secure for fermentation , you may boil it and allow it to cool to board temperature before tot up in the saltiness to make your brine .
You may use fine sea salt instead of coarse kosher salt if you favour . Just adapt the formula to 1 1/4 tbsp . fine sea Strategic Arms Limitation Talks .
