Norwood CSA Food Co-op: Pickling with the Norwood CSA by Elizabeth Wilson

My current ferments entirely with CSA produce and herbs: beets with thyme and radishes with chives, both topped with cabbage to keep under the water. (Photo by author).

I am delighted to share this edited post from the winter CSA about my mild obsession with pickled vegetables. My family’s dinner table famously includes pickles, apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, and lacto-fermented CSA vegetables. Everyone in our family is required to eat one of those daily; guests are encouraged and occasionally inspired to partake, but not required.

To be more accurate, this post is about lacto-fermentation, but “lacto-fermentation” is not a good hook to get you to keep reading. “Pickling” is technically with vinegar and heat; a process which does not produce probiotics, which are great for your intestinal health. Various fermented foods have been a staple of my family’s diet since 2001, when my acupuncturist recommended a tablespoon of sauerkraut for me first thing every morning to improve my gut health. (I blame my poor intestinal health on the fact that I was on low levels of antibiotics for acne for several years as a teenager – antibiotics kill off good bacteria in your gut).

Lacto-fermentation is a great way to prepare some of those CSA vegetables that are taking up room in your fridge. Fermented veg:

can be stored on the counter
is delicious and great for your intestinal health
preserves the veg for up to a year so you waste less

I won’t go into all of the benefits of fermented foods, because you can read all about it in the websites below. But let me just say that you really don’t need any special equipment, I just use unfiltered tap water and I don’t even stress much about sanitizing. You can do this with nothing special, just the time you need to chop (which can be done by food processor or mandoline), with any jar in your house, or with Fido jars (just open it once a day to release the pressure).

There are endless recipes to look through, so I narrowed it down for you to the ones I have used with success:

The pickled turnips you get in shawarma – great on any sandwich!
Try these delicious flavorings for fermented beets.
In case that last website felt overwhelming, this one is a more basic one for beets
Raw is delicious, but fermented radishes are less sharp
Anyone else have lots of carrots?
Hot sauce to preserve the hot peppers!