Fermented Salsa

To add to the ferments of the season: fermented salsa is now one of my favorites! How did I not know this before? I pretty much never do traditional canning, which means the bottom of my fridge is full of jars of things since I have to store the ferments there instead of a pantry. I seem to have enough room, and it means I get so much more good bacteria! (My freezer holds the remaining berries and tomatoes and sauces.)

I made my first batch of salsa about a month ago, and it is still tasting great in the fridge. The online recipe inspiring this one says that the salsa lasts a couple of months in the fridge. So, this is not a long-term ferment (like kraut that will last for 2 years), but more a shorter-term one (similar, in my experience, to cucumber pickles). 

You can use whatever combination of salsa ingredients you like - my version is below based on what was in my garden and following salt recommendation from the link above. It is a much more liquid-y ferment due to the tomatoes and lime juice, and it doesn't take long - a few days or so on the counter. *I used the food processor for my first batch for everything but the tomatoes, which resulted in a thinner/saucier salsa. The 2nd time I chopped by hand and I like the texture better because everything is more uniform in size and more chunky.

Finely chop the following for 1 quart plus another pint of salsa:

• 2 pounds tomatoes
• 2 jalapenos
• 1 mild pepper
• 3-6 cloves garlic (mine were really big so I just used 3)
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 T salt 
• opt bunch of cilantro (I did not use because mine is mostly done in the garden)

I topped mine off with a horseradish leaf (or you can use an oak leaf) to increase tanin and keep things crisper, which I then use as the top to keep the ingredients submerged under the liquid. I don't know if the tanins are helpful here, but I did it anyway (you could also use a collard leaf or half pepper or whatever). In the photo you can see that for the pint jar I use a rock on top of the leaf, and for the quart jar I used this coil spring fermentation product I got at fleet farm a month or so ago. It works, and presses the ingredients down extra firmly once the lid is on (see photo above where it is just red liquid in the top 1/4 of the jar).

Let sit out 3-4 days, until the taste is to your liking, depending on temperatures. The warmer it is, the shorter fermentation time needed. Store in the fridge for up to 2 months. 

I ate some on a taco salad, and attempted to make little kale tacos another night, which were really tasty and a total mess: young kale leafs wrapped around meat, avocado and salsa filling.