What to Do With That Bumper Crop from the Garden?

Did you wander out to the garden that you worked so hard to sustain only to find that it is thriving beyond your wildest dreams….and your capacity for one more cucumber salad or loaf of zucchini bread?  If you are wondering if there is a way to hang on to some of your hard-earned harvest instead of leaving it on your neighbor's porch, ringing the doorbell, and trying to be out of sight before they answer, then fermenting foods may be just the thing for you to try!  

I grew up canning all sorts of foods with my Mom and Grandma.  The season usually kicked off with cherries and green beans and would continue with strawberry jam, canned peaches and applesauce, chili sauce and salsa. It was such a wonderful time to spend with those amazing, hard-working ladies. We would spend hours together filling jars, filling the canner many times to finish the huge task.

These days, I don’t seem to have the time to pull out the canner and spend the entire summer processing dozens of jars, and what I have discovered is there is another way to lock in all the goodness and even add another level of nutrients to the abundance.  When we preserve foods by fermenting them, we create a situation where microbial growth is promoted.  The good kind of microbes, that is!  Not only do you get the satisfaction of preserving some of your garden bounty for future consumption, you have just added a healthy source of probiotics to your diet!

And it is so easy to make just a jar or two at a time. I find this to be so convenient, and easy to wedge preserving food in around all the other summer activities because whenever I have a jarful of cucumbers or green beans, all I have to do is add garlic, dill, pickling spices and a 3% salt water solution, screw on a lid and let it sit on the counter for about a week.  I like to peek into the jar every day, just to make sure the liquid level is staying above the top of the vegetables so I don’t start growing mold. 

This kind of fermenting works for so many different kinds of vegetables – cucumbers, cauliflower, carrots and peppers, onions, green beans, summer squash and of course, cabbage.  So even if you don’t have a canner, or a canner full of jars to process, you can spend just a few moments setting up a jar or two to ferment instead. No hot water bath, no pressure canner required.  However, you might want to invest in fermenting lids or simply make your own fermenting weights. Here is one of my favorite recipes.

The best way to tell if your fermented foods are ready is to taste them.  Usually, it takes 3-7 days for veggies to ferment and can be influenced by how warm it is in your kitchen.  When they are sour enough for your liking, simply put the jars into the refrigerator and store for 6 months, even up to a year.  They will continue to ferment in the fridge, but it will be drastically slower at the cooler temperature.

2 lbs small pickling cucumbers

1 Tbsp Azure Standard pickling spice

½ tsp. dry mustard

1 stalk fresh dill, with dill weed and flower OR 1 Tbsp dried dill seed

2-3 bay leaves

3-5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, depending on how garlicky you like your pickles

½ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

2 Tbsp (per Quart) Pink Himalayan salt or sea salt

Put spices and garlic in clean jar.  Fold dill stalk and place in jar and fill with cucumbers, leaving about an inch of headspace. In another quart jar, mix 2 tablespoons salt and filtered water. Pour over pickles until completely covered.  Cover with lid and check daily to “burp,” or remove air bubbles and make sure liquid level remains above vegetables, tasting for sour and tanginess.  When your desired level has been reached, place in the refrigerator and enjoy within 6-12 months.