I love the texture of cooked lotus root — soft and crunchy at the same time, and really wanted to experiment fermenting them. This ferment was a little different from what I’ve done in the past because I cooked the vegetables before fermenting them. It worked really well, and the resulting pickles had that soft and crunchy texture that I’d been craving. I look forward to trying out other flavours of lotus root pickles, but in the meantime, try these fiery ginger and garlic ones. They will make your taste buds happy!
About Fermenting Vegetables with Brine
Brine-based vegetable ferments couldn’t be easier, so if you can’t quite find the time to chop an entire head of cabbage and then to beat it until it bleeds enough to bury it under its own juices (sounds gory, I know), then consider switching to brine-based ferments. The steps are as follows:
1) Make brine (salt + water)
2) Cut vegetables (optional) and prepare spices and aromatics (optional)
3) Pack everything into a jar and cover with brine.
4) Wait
5) Consume!
Easy-peasy, isn’t it? I promise that it is, and if this is your first time fermenting vegetables in brine, I have written up a few additional guidelines to demystify the process and help you succeed with your own ferments.
#1 Chopping
Although not necessary for fermentation per se, chopping your vegetables creates more surface area from which to draw out its juices. When brining vegetables, you can choose if and how you want to cut your produce, keeping in my mind that smaller pieces will ferment faster than larger ones.
#2 Salting
Salt is important for four reasons. 1) Through osmosis, it helps draw water out of your vegetables, to create an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment for lactic acid bacteria to grow. 2) Salt keeps your vegetables crispier by hardening pectin fibres and hampering their digestion by enzymes. 3) Salt creates an environment favourable to lactic acid bacteria (the good guys!) and less so to other, less desirable microorganisms, giving the former a competitive advantage. 4) Salt slows down the fermentation process, extending the potential for preservation. Usually, the guideline is to have about a 2% salt to water ratio, although you need to increase this ratio to 3.5-5% if using vegetables that mold easily, like cucumbers. You can play around with the amount of salt, but I don’t recommend skipping it!
#3 Water
When choosing a water source for making brine, you want to be conscious of contamination, but also of how the water may have been treated to remove those contaminants. Tap water is often treated with chlorine, chloramines (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) or fluoride, all of which can impair the quality of your ferments and should be removed before use. Check with your municipal water source to find out how your water is treated. Certain filtration systems will remove these compounds (more information here). The easiest method for removing chlorine is to boil your water for 15 minutes. As for chloramines, adding a pinch of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) powder to the water does the trick.
#4 Submerging
In order to prevent undesirable molds from growing on your carefully prepared vegetables, you want to maintain them in an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment, which requires keeping them submerged under the brine. If you find yourself with stubbornly floating vegetable, a few options include: 1) Using a fermentation weight (usually made of glass or safe ceramic). 2) Using a large, clean vegetable leaf to push down the vegetables. At the end of the fermentation period, the leaf can be discarded. 3) Mixing the contents of your jar every day to make sure that molds have no time to flourish on the surface.
#5 Covering
To limit oxygen exposure and prevent surface molds from developing, it is important to cover the opening of your vessel. At the same time, you don’t want to seal it completely because, especially during the first week, the lactic acid bacteria will be releasing carbon dioxide, which can build up in your vessel and cause an unwanted disaster. A few options include: 1) covering the opening of your jar with a coffee filter of a piece of cheesecloth, fastened with an elastic band. 2) Using a lid, but keeping it loosely fastened, or making sure to unfasten the lid every day to release the air buildup in your jar. 3) Using a specialized airlock system.
For further information about fermentation, I highly recommend Sandor Ellix Katz’ The Art of Fermentation. Katz provides an invaluable wealth of information on the benefits, methods and traditions surrounding fermenting worldwide, from sauerkraut to beer to tempeh. This book is a great resource and an endless source of inspiration!
Joëlle
Yields 2 quarts
These lotus root pickles are soft, crunchy and tangy. Lacto-fermented with generous amounts of ginger and garlic, they are guaranteed to make your gut as happy as your taste buds!
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Ingredients
- 3 nodes lotus root
- 3 cups water
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 cup julienned ginger
- 5-6 garlic cloves
- 4 cups water
- 2-3 tbsp Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Make the brine: bring water to a boil. Boil for a few minutes to sanitize the water, and remove from heat*. Dissolve salt into the hot water and let the water cool down to room temperature.
- Peel lotus root nodes, and chop the ends off.
- Halve lotus root lengthwise. Placing the lotus root half flat-side down, halve it lengthwise once more, and then cut crosswise into thin slices (~5mm thick). Repeat with the other half. You should end up with many pizza-slice shaped pieces of lotus root. Place the slices in a bowl with cold water and vinegar and let soak for 5-10 minutes, to get rid of any impurities and to reduce the astringency.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drain lotus root pieces and parboil for about 2 minutes. Drain into a colander and let cool to room temperature.
- When cool, tightly pack lotus root slices into jars, interspersed with layers of ginger and garlic.
- Pour the brine into the jars until all the lotus root slices are submerged. If you can, use something heavy (like some fermenting weights) to help keep the vegetables submerged.
- Cover your jars and leave them at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks, or until you are happy with the taste. At that point, transfer them to the fridge to slow down the fermentation.
Notes
If you are using tap water treated with chlorine, boiling the water for 15 minutes will remove the chlorine. If your tap water is treated with chloramines, as mine is, mix a pinch of ascorbic acid powder into the water before boiling to neutralize the chloramines.
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References
Katz, S. E. (2012). The art of fermentation an in-depth exploration of essential concepts and processes from around the world. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publ.
