How to Make Fermented Jalapenos
I don’t know about you, but, there is something so magical about harvesting food from your garden and bringing it to the table. It inspires me! I find it comforting to see the fresh food waiting for me to prepare it with love and care. When it comes to jalapenos, I almost always ferment them. Fermented Jalapenos are not only delicious, but, a gut healthy treat that goes with most meals!
Jump to RecipeWe grow several jalapeno plants every year. It’s our favorite pepper! With many plants, there are many peppers to deal with at one time.
My go to method for preserving them, is fermentation. All this means is you add salt water to fresh veggies, keep them submerged under the water, allow for gas to escape, and leave on the counter. Over a few days, the good bacteria that lives on the veggie and in the air will take over. The salt in the water inhibits the bad bacterial from taking over.
What you end up with is a delicious, gut healthy side dish! We eat fermented foods at least twice a day. So, I have to keep several things going at once.
I have a favorite though:) You guessed it: Jalapenos! They are spicy and briny and all the things that make me happy!
To make these, you just need 8-10 jalapenos, 1 quart of water, 2 tablespoons of fine sea salt, a large mouth mason jar, something to weigh it down (I use a fermenting weight), and either a pickle pipe or a loose fitting lid.
To make the brine, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and pour over 2 tablespoons of fine sea salt. Mix until dissolved. Once dissolved, pour 3 cups cool water over the 1 cup of hot water and add 2-3 ice cubes.
Rinse the jalapenos well and pat dry. Slice in uniform slices to your desired thickness. Once they are all sliced add them to a large mouth mason jar.
Pour the COOL brine over the jalapenos until they are covered. NOTE: THE BRINE MUST BE COOL BEFORE USING. Sorry for yelling ha ha!
I hope you will give these a try! If you don’t grow jalapenos, just grab some from your local super market!
See you soon!
Fermented Jalapenos
Equipment
- 1 Fermenting weight
- 1 Pickle pipe
- 1 Large mouth mason jar
Ingredients
- 8-10 Jalapenos
- 4 cups Filtered Water Reserve one cup for boiling to dissolve salt
- 2 tbsp Fine sea salt
Instructions
- Bring 1 cup of the water to a boil and pour over the salt to dissolve.
- Pour remaining 3 cups over the hot water and add 2-3 ice cubes.
- Rinse and pat dry the jalapenos.
- Slice jalapenos in uniform slices at your desired thickness.
- Place sliced jalapenos into large mouth mason jar.
- Make sure brine is COOL before proceeding! Pour over peppers until they are submerged.
- Place weight on top making sure all peppers are under the weight.
- Place pickle pipe on top and ring. Alternatively, you can add a loose fitting lid.
- Allow to ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can start tasting after 2 if it's warm in your house.
- Once to desired taste, remove weight, place tight fitting lid on, and move to the fridge for storage.
- **Periodically check the peppers to make sure they are still submerged and push any floaters back under the weight**
Greetings Mary. This video came across my feed and I was intrigued. I’ve not gotten into fermenting but after watching, I’ve done just that. I heard in this video you mentioned fermented salsa. I believe I found your recipe but I’m not sure of the instructions if the brine is the lime juice and the salt. You say submerge the vegetables in the brine but the recipe itself does not mention the brine ie 4 cups water two tbl salt.
Sorry about that! The brine is 4 cups water and 2 tablespoons of water.