We have always grown a mix of pumpkins and winter squashes and have mixed them wildly in this recipe. It turns out delicious every time. The latest mix consisted of Black Forest, Hokkaido, Butternut, and some self-seeded hybrids from the compost area.

Since pumpkin is quite sweet, it’s good to balance it with something slightly peppery like cabbage, daikon, or kohlrabi. This results in a really fresh and slightly sparkling ferment.

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Sauerkraut is one of the most well-known and consumed forms of lacto-fermented vegetables in Europe and the USA, and it has been produced in various ways worldwide for thousands of years. The basic recipe involves shredded cabbage and salt. Caraway seeds and juniper berries are popular seasonings, but you can also try using rowan berries, black pepper, and even sea buckthorn. Finely chop the cabbage by hand (big sharp knife is recommended), use a cabbage slicer or a food processor/vegetable cutter.

For a more detailed description of the lacto-fermentation process and how sauerkraut is made, check here.

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Recipe by Karin Liljegren Eskilstuna Matkultur

These fermented tomatoes by Karin Liljegren from Eskilstuna Matkultur versatile and can be used as a side dish, in salads, blended into a gazpacho, or even scooped onto butter-fried sourdough bread. You can also use the tomato juice in a drink for a perfect summer aperitif.

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Green tomatoes are good to ferment as they maintain a good texture and are often abundant towards the end of the season.

Ingredients:

10kg green tomatoes
1 – 2 heads of garlic
2 onions
whole fresh chili peppers (to taste). I used a yellow chili – hot lemon because I had a lot of it and it looks nice.
a little bunch of sage
a little bunch of rosemary (skip if it’s not a favourite)
Saltlösning with 5% salt (50 g of salt per liter of water)

Here’s how to make it:

Chop the tomatoes into large pieces or slices, slice the onions, peel the garlic but leave the cloves whole. Keep the chili peppers and herbs whole as well. Mix all the ingredients in a container.
Place a weight or plate on top and completely cover with the salt brine. Put on the lid and, if available, use an airlock. Let it sit at room temperature for 7-10 days, then move it to a cool place. Allow it to sit cool for 4 weeks before transferring to smaller jars and consuming. It will keep for a long time.

Although most cucumbers can be delicious lacto-fermented it’s best to use cucumbers with thin skins, otherwise, peeling them may be necessary. Overripe cucumbers should also be emptied of their seeds. Cut off the part where the flower was attached, as enzymes from that area can cause it to become soft. In these recipes, I’ve used different brine concentrations, but generally, with cucumbers, it’s fine to use a brine that is between 3.5% – 6% salt, resulting in approximately 1.5% – 3% salt in the final product after the cucumbers have absorbed salt through osmosis. Using less salt than that increases the chance of the cucumbers becoming soft. More salt results in a sour and crispy pickle, while less salt yields a milder and softer pickle.

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Dilly beans are one of the most popular fermentations among our CSA members and enjoyed by both young and old. It’s one of the easiest fermentations to make but takes time in other ways like the harvest and maturing time – I usually let this fermentation sit in the root cellar for at least three months before jarring – and then there’s the jarring process itself. Fitting long beans into short jars is a time-consuming task. This means that the majority of the work is done in winter when growers typically have more time.

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The zucchini/courgette harvest can be overwhelming, but if you have a vegetable dehydrator, there’s a solution! Trim off the firm outer part of the courgette and ferment it – here are two methods for lacto-fermenting courgettes. Slice the hearts into 1 cm thick slices (they become very thin when dried) and place them on the dehydrator. Pat them dry with a paper towel or a clean kitchen cloth to speed up the process and prevent sticking. Dehydrate them thoroughly. Enjoy them as chips or grind them into a flour using a food processor. Use this powder in kimchi paste and in cooking – it’s particularly delicious in falafel or bean burgers.