This is a nice simple ferment to get started on, important is the quality of the carrots you are starting with. So many supermarket carrots are these huge Frankenstein carrots with a massive core that have no taste or are a bit bitter. Yeah you know those ones too! Try to find sweet carrots if you can!
Simple Carrot Sticks Ferment
- Dissolve salt in water (1 litre of water requires 30g of salt = 3%)
- Cut the carrots into 1cm wide sticks (no need to peel but you can if you want -but better not to if the skin is not bitter, just give them a wash with water and a light scrub)
- Squash one or two small garlic gloves and a small piece of onion about the same size and put them in (no need to chop – they are just there to give some flavour) and/or use some pickling spice from the supermarket.
- Place the carrot sticks in the fermentation jar and pour the liquid brine over the carrots so they are covered and the jar is 90% filled up.
- Try and weight the carrots down with the provided food weights so they are completely submerged under the brine. Honestly don’t worry too much if they are not – just do ya best- it’s a short ferment so it’s not super important.
- Put the lid on and fill the water moat until it is nearly full
- Leave for 3 – 5 days (it depends a little on the room temperature) and what taste you like. Note: the water will go cloudy. If you want more sour notes and more depth of flavour you can leave for longer. If the room temperature is 30°C 2-3 days is enough. In the fridge they will last for two weeks no problem at all. They may get soft if you leave them for too long.
They have a funky, addictive, flavour and when you get into it, which you will, they are VERY addictive. Great with hummus – impress you friends at your next party. Who knew carrots could be addictive?
In general how long to leave lacto fermented vegetables depends mainly on two things :
- What flavour you like : the longer you leave them the more sour the flavours and also the more depth of flavour
- The room temperature : A room temperature of around 70°F (21°C) is ideal, (yeah I know nothing in life is rarely ideal – and it doesn’t matter – fermentation is pretty flexible!)
See our page on The Best Fermentation Temperatures here.
Congratulations on your first successful ferment! Enjoy your fermented carrot sticks by themselves or with hummus or your favourite dip of choice.
Mix it up a bit
You can pretty much ferment any vegetable the same way – hard vegetables tend to work the best like carrots, beetroots, cabbage etc. Soft squishy vegetables like mushrooms and tomatoes can be done quite easily but require slightly more advanced fermentation techniques so they don’t go mushy.
To mix it up a bit next time try part of a chili pepper – delicious we promise you!