Fermenting tomatoes

[impr3]

I've been experimenting with ferments over the past year, mostly sauerkraut, and it's all been tasty. However, this is by far the best!

It's my first time fermenting tomatoes and I think I'm in love. Just ate three of them mixed with pasta and miscellaneous fresh veggies, no sauce at all and it didn't need it.

Anyone else here experimented with fermenting tomatoes?

For reference, the recipe I used is:
- As many tomatoes as you can stuff in a half gallon jar, pierced with a fork (I used 15 roma)
- 5 sprigs basil from the garden
- 5 cloves of this season's garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup salt dissolved in 1 cup water
- Juice of 1 lime
- Additional water to cover tomatoes (I needed 1 cup)

I left the lot of it at 15-20C (60-70F) for a month with the lid on finger tight, no airlock. No issues with mold, even though it was impossible to keep the tomatoes below the brine because they filled up with CO2 inside like little balloons! I'm guessing the inherent acidity of the tomatoes protects them a little.

I'd love to hear other's fermenting experiences, tomatoes or otherwise. Food preservation is an aspect of self sufficiency that I've really been enjoying exploring lately.

 

[Callender Girl]

Wow! You are actually doing what I keep telling myself I'm going to do. Congratulations on the tomatoes.

A few years ago, I was a journalist covering a Practical Farmers of Iowa annual meeting and had the opportunity to cover a talk by Sandor Katz, author of a great book on fermentation. I talked with him afterward and was inspired to later buy his book. I have showed it off to others and have read parts of it. And, that's as far as I've gotten (BTW, I also have skeins of yarn and shelves of books about knitting and crocheting, among other unlearned interests).

Thanks for sharing your success. Maybe I'll grab that book off the shelf again!!

 

[impr3]

Wow! You are actually doing what I keep telling myself I'm going to do. Congratulations on the tomatoes.

A few years ago, I was a journalist covering a Practical Farmers of Iowa annual meeting and had the opportunity to cover a talk by Sandor Katz, author of a great book on fermentation. I talked with him afterward and was inspired to later buy his book. I have showed it off to others and have read parts of it. And, that's as far as I've gotten (BTW, I also have skeins of yarn and shelves of books about knitting and crocheting, among other unlearned interests).

Thanks for sharing your success. Maybe I'll grab that book off the shelf again!!

That book is also on my reading list since hearing an interview of his. It's been on the list a while... I should get to it.

Unlike knitting and crochet (and reading books on fermentation), fermentation has the benefit of a pretty low time commitment to get started. Sauerkraut takes a little while to cut and message the cabbage, but these tomatoes probably took me 15 minutes to throw together plus just a couple extra minutes every few days after that to slip a chopstick down the sides of the container to release trapped CO2 so it wouldn't overflow. Total time commitment less than 30 minutes for 5+ meals worth of tomatoes. Maybe a good place to start your exploration?

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Sally PB]

Food preservation is an aspect of self sufficiency

Yes! I've been working on this for a while. I haven't done any fermenting, other than kombucha, but plan to. Think of the piece of mind you have with 3-4 months of food put by. Canning, dehydrating, fermenting, long term storage items (eg, potatoes), and shelf stable staples (canned goods, dried or boxed goods).

Lose your job? You can still eat. Covid lockdown again? Still eat. One vital thing not to worry about in a chaotic time.

Oh, I forgot to add EGGS to the list. A trip out to the coop, and there's breakfast.