In a pickle, part III
Sep. 21st, 2014 09:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Cold-Fermented Tomatoes.
10 small-medium tomatoes (I used Early Girls)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
1 liter water
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp sugar
dill or other herb/seasoning, coarsely chopped (I used fresh marjoram)
Bring water to a boil. Add salt, sugar, pepper, and bay leaves. Remove from heat and cool down to a warm temperature. In a cuople of hours test with your finger - it should be slightly warmer than your finger.
Wash the tomatoes and prick the bases with a fork for brine to penetrate better. Pack tomatoes in a clean 2l/1q jar. Distribute garlic and dill evenly between jars, on a top of tomatoes. When brine is cooled down (about temperature of your shower), pour it in a jar, covering all tomatoes.
Place jar lids on a top ajar. Do not cover it completely. Let tomatoes seat on a counter for 3-5 days (depending of your room temperature). On a second or third day you will notice that brine becomes milky - it is the way it should be. If your top tomato in jar is not quite under water - turn it on another side every day.
On a third day you can try your tomatoes. Most like it won't be ready and will taste differently but not quite right, so let them seat in a room temperature more. As soon as you decide they are ready - transfer jars into a fridge. Next day, cold, they will taste amazing. Do not be afraid to error on either side - I'm talking about when to stop fermenting process by placing tomatoes in a fridge. Often it is matter of taste - some likes it mild, some likes when it bites like a carbonated drinks do. Enjoy! When you get used to its special taste - please, try to control yourself and do not eat tomatoes right from a jar, one by one, in a one seat!
What worked: The Engrish charmed me, so I reproduced it faithfully (including typos).
They were okay. I didn't taste that much zing, although the wife could tell.
What didn't: I accidentally left the jar too far open, so it developed a layer of "harmless white mold" (so saith the internet, so it must be true. I can't be bothered to re-find it, but it's apparently not uncommon. And really, genuinely harmless.) on the top. I cleaned it out, sterilized around, and fixed the issue.
Will I make it again? Meh, probably not. If I really liked vodka the idea of fermenting cherry tomatoes to drop in vodka like a cocktail onion in a martini (which is made with gin, you heathens) would appeal.
10 small-medium tomatoes (I used Early Girls)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
1 liter water
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp sugar
dill or other herb/seasoning, coarsely chopped (I used fresh marjoram)
Bring water to a boil. Add salt, sugar, pepper, and bay leaves. Remove from heat and cool down to a warm temperature. In a cuople of hours test with your finger - it should be slightly warmer than your finger.
Wash the tomatoes and prick the bases with a fork for brine to penetrate better. Pack tomatoes in a clean 2l/1q jar. Distribute garlic and dill evenly between jars, on a top of tomatoes. When brine is cooled down (about temperature of your shower), pour it in a jar, covering all tomatoes.
Place jar lids on a top ajar. Do not cover it completely. Let tomatoes seat on a counter for 3-5 days (depending of your room temperature). On a second or third day you will notice that brine becomes milky - it is the way it should be. If your top tomato in jar is not quite under water - turn it on another side every day.
On a third day you can try your tomatoes. Most like it won't be ready and will taste differently but not quite right, so let them seat in a room temperature more. As soon as you decide they are ready - transfer jars into a fridge. Next day, cold, they will taste amazing. Do not be afraid to error on either side - I'm talking about when to stop fermenting process by placing tomatoes in a fridge. Often it is matter of taste - some likes it mild, some likes when it bites like a carbonated drinks do. Enjoy! When you get used to its special taste - please, try to control yourself and do not eat tomatoes right from a jar, one by one, in a one seat!
What worked: The Engrish charmed me, so I reproduced it faithfully (including typos).
They were okay. I didn't taste that much zing, although the wife could tell.
What didn't: I accidentally left the jar too far open, so it developed a layer of "harmless white mold" (so saith the internet, so it must be true. I can't be bothered to re-find it, but it's apparently not uncommon. And really, genuinely harmless.) on the top. I cleaned it out, sterilized around, and fixed the issue.
Will I make it again? Meh, probably not. If I really liked vodka the idea of fermenting cherry tomatoes to drop in vodka like a cocktail onion in a martini (which is made with gin, you heathens) would appeal.
