Fermenting foods is one of my passions in life. With just a little bit of salt and water, you can transform vegetables into something completely different and also increase their healthful properties. Fermented foods contain probiotics, which can be beneficial for the digestive system.

I especially love fermenting vegetables because it’s so simple, and much easier than traditional canning or other food preservation techniques. It’s also possible to make just one jar, which is nice when you don’t have a huge amount of produce to work with.

Flexible Pickling

This fermented veggie recipe is easily adaptable because you can throw in any hard vegetable that you might have an abundance of and it will still turn out great! The pickling spice gives it a wonderful boost of flavor that I really enjoy.

My recipe doesn’t contain exact amounts of vegetables because you really just need enough to fill a quart sized jar. Feel free to use more of one kind or omit another one all together. The most important thing is to try to chop all your vegetables to be approximately the same size to ensure they all ferment at about the same rate.

Recipe for Fermented Mixed Veggies with Pickling Spice 

Ingredients: 

• radishes, left whole if small or cut in half if large
• carrots, cut into thick rounds
• green beans
• cauliflower florets
• brussels sprouts, left whole if small or cut in half if large
• 2 cups non-chlorinated water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp organic pickling spice

Directions: 

1. Fill wide mouth quart sized jar with the veggies and pickling spice, leaving an inch or so of headspace.
2. Mix water and salt to make a brine.
3. Pour brine over veggies, making sure to completely cover all veggies. You may need to make a little more brine at a ratio of 3/4 Tbsp salt to 1 cup water in order to fill the jar.
4. Weigh veggies down with a fermentation weight so that they stay under the brine.
5. Cover jar with fermentation airlock, or a clean towel secured with a rubber band.
6. Set in cool and dark place for 1-2 weeks to ferment.
7. Taste the veggies along the way, and when they are pickled to your liking, they are done!
8. Store in refrigerator (covered with a lid).

Inspired to make more fermented vegetables?