Fermented Carrot Sticks
Fermented carrot sticks are delicious, nutritious, and SUPER simple to make! Move over boring raw carrot sticks; these are so much more fun, delicious, and great for your gut health, too. You’re going to LOVE them!
Equipment
- Fermentation vessel I like wide mouth quart-size mason jars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb Raw carrots
- 1 tbsp Sea salt
- 2 cup Water well, distilled, filtered
- Optional for additional flavor: garlic clove, bay leaf, rosemary sprig, lemon slice, coriander seed, mustard seed, etc.
Instructions
- Peel and slice freshly washed carrots into long sticks, about 3/8" in diameter and 4 ¾" long (if using quart size jars).
- Add the carrot sticks to a clean fermentation vessel, continuing to add them until they are quite snug. If you want to add garlic or rosemary for additional flavor, tuck those in as well.
- Place the fermentation weight on top.
- Mix up the brine by adding 1 Tbsp of sea salt to 2 cups of room temperature, non-chlorinated water and mixing until dissolved. If you're using a large fermentation vessel, you may need to double or triple this brine recipe.
- Pour the brine over the carrot sticks and fermentation weight until the brine reaches the very top lip of your fermentation vessel. Reserve any extra brine.
- Secure a fermentation lid on top of the jar.
- Move the container to a cool, dark location where it will be undisturbed for 7-14 days.
- By day 7, begin tasting the fermented carrot sticks to decide if they are "ready" or not. Look for a sour pickle taste that is pleasing, but not too acidic like vinegar.
- Once the fermented carrots have reached the stage to your liking, transfer the jar(s) to the refrigerator where they will keep for up to a year!
Notes
Fermentation tips:
- A snug fit will help keep the carrot sticks firmly in place, rather than floating around toward the surface of the jar, which can lead to mold growth.
- Don't underfill the jar with brine; otherwise, that can also increase the risk of mold growth. You want as little of an air gap as possible.
- Placing the container(s) on a plate or tray can help catch anything that dribbles over as it bubbles during the fermentation process. Keep an eye on the brine level and top it off with the reserved extra brine, if needed.
Nutrition
Serving: 2.8ozCalories: 30kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFiber: 2g
Did you try my recipe?Let me know how it was!