Quick and Simple Fermented Radishes

My quick and simple lacto-fermented radishes are a delicious garnish for salads, tacos, and sandwiches. Plus, fermented foods are a wonderful, and necessary, addition to our diets for optimal gut health and immune function.

I Love Growing Root Vegetables

There’s something so satisfying about gently prying your harvest from beneath the soil. I probably like the surprise factor. Is this carrot two inches long? Is it 6 inches long? Did it turn out shaped more like a beet than a carrot (because I didn’t work the soil enough and it was too hard to grow dooooowwwn through)?

Well you live and learn.

And you get excited every single time you pull a real life vegetable, just like you see at the grocery store, out of the ground.

I actually hesitated to do this post, because I never thinned my radishes and let the greens get rather long. I have this inner dialogue that points out that someone, somewhere will notice that these aren’t perfect. Can you believe that, a second thought about the perfection of a radish. Welcome to life on social media.

But you know what, the reality is that when you homeschool, work from home, feed people and animals, and tend a garden, sometimes the radishes don’t get thinned. We gonna eat ’em just the same. The kids don’t love radishes anyway, so these being a little spicier is just fine with me. You can actually use your radish greens for pesto, or cooked like you would any other greens. I didn’t sauté tender little greens, but I did feed mine to the pigs. Nothing is wasted here. And that includes time chewing over the thought that someone might judge my gardening based on the state of some unthinned radishes.

Lacto-Fermentation

The lacto-fermentation process is one that’s used to preserve traditional pickles, real sauerkraut, kimchi, and sourdough bread. It sounds fancy, but it’s actually super simple. For fermenting vegetables, all you really need is salt, water, and veggies. This process is different from canning, which requires a sterilization process, heat preservation, and produces a longer shelf-life. Fermented foods are generally ready to eat in just a few days, and will last in the refrigerator for a few months.

The process uses salt to eliminate “bad” bacteria, while good bacterias called lactobacillus convert the naturally occurring sugars found in veggies into lactic acid, which is actually a natural preservative. The beautiful thing is that not only does it preserve the food’s freshness, lactic acid also helps to lock in freshness and nutrients.

Lacto-fermented foods have a distinct tangy flavor that is delicious and some pretty incredible health benefits.

Benefits of Lacto-Fermented Foods

For the fourth year in a row, fermented foods are No. 1 on Today’s Dietitian list of the year’s top superfoods. 
Probably their most well-known health benefit is their support of the digestive system and beneficial gut flora. A huge portion of your immune system is housed in your gut, so supporting a healthy bacteria balance with these natural probiotics, in turn, supports your immune system. Fermented foods also help to combat inflammation, which is associated with many diseases.

The moral of the story being, we could all use some extra fermented foods in our diets. So let’s whip up some radishes, shall we?

Video Tutorial

Ingredients

• 4 cups filtered water
• roughly 2 cups of radishes
• 2 1/2 tbsp sea salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 1 tsp mustard seeds

Supplies

• quart jar and lid
• fermentation weights

Directions

1. Completely dissolve salt in the water to create the brine.
2. Wash radishes and remove leaves and roots. Slice larger radishes into slivers.
3. Place spices in bottom of the jar.
4. Pack your radishes in the jar and cover with brine. Leave about 1 inch of headspace.
5. Use a fermentation weight to keep the radishes submerged.
6. Cover the jar with a tight lid, airlock lid, or cloth secured with a rubber band. If you use a tight lid, be sure to burp your jar every day to release gas and pressure that builds up during the fermentation process.
7. Culture at room temperature (60-70°F is preferred) until they reach your desired flavor and texture.
8. Once radishes are finished culturing, put a tight lid on the jar and move to cold storage.

My Favorite Fermenting Supplies

Creating your own fermented foods is a simple process, and doesn’t require a pile of supplies like canning does. In the past I’ve even used a clean stone to weight down my ferments. A couple of years ago I began researching fermentation equipment and found a company that I fell in love with.

A Year of Plenty is a small family business based in Pennsylvania that sells the quality products that they use on their own homestead. Plus they offer an incredible three month, 100% guarantee on all of their items. If you don’t love what you order, they will refund you 100% and pay for you to ship it back! But don’t worry, I know you will love their goods.

I started out with their Complete Fermentation Kit and have been super impressed with the quality. I’ve also found that I am much more likely to actually make fermented foods when I have all of the supplies I need rather than just winging it, so this kit was a game-changer for me.

You can get yours by clicking here and enter the code HOMEGROWN for 10% off your order!

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