Delicious Probiotic Fermented Mushrooms
I love fermenting things which is why I make my own fermenting pots. Fermented foods are tasty and so good for you. If you're a mushroom fan, this adapted recipe I use from Milkwood in Australia is delicious. This simple recipe uses a ceramic fermenting pot - like the ones I make - and basic biological pickling method of lacto-fermentation, which relies on little more than salt, water and time. Easy and totally worth it!
Garlic, tangy and a little sour - probiotic mushrooms are delicious and good for you!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Your favourite Mushrooms
You can use the supermarket, wild, medical or homegrown. - Water
Filtered or rainwater if you can. - Salt
Good-quality, non-iodised. - Lots of fresh garlic to taste.
- Fresh, tannin-rich leaves.
ie: Grape, cherry, oak leaves, or green banana peel.
You can use 1/2 cup black or green tea if you don't have leaves. - Spices, such as dill, fennel, coriander and pepper.
- Cabbage leaves.
Method
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Also, fill up the kettle and turn it on.
- Use the boiled kettle water to mix up a 4% brine (salt) solution - for every 2 cups of water, add 1 tbsp salt. Stir 'til dissolved, set aside to cool.
- Slice mushrooms into 1cm strips then blanch them - an important step for food safety.
- Turn the boiling pot of water off, add mushrooms, wait 2mins, drain, set aside to cool.
- Take a ceramic fermenting pot and place the tannin-rich leaves (or 1/2 cup black/green tea), spices, and garlic at the bottom. Tannins & Fermentation.
Tannins will keep fermented foods crisp and crunchie. - Weigh the cooled mushrooms.
- Work out 4% of their weight in salt. Eg: if you have 1 kg of mushrooms, you need 40g of salt. Mix together.
*We do not advocate using iodized salt since iodine has been shown to impede the growth of beneficial bacteria in cultured vegetables. - Add the salted mushrooms pot and cover them with the brine solution.
- Squash a cabbage leaf into the top.
- Place your fermenting pot weight on the top to hold the mushrooms below the brine.
- Pop the lid on and seal with water.
- Leave the pot at room temp for 7-10 days. Every day check and ensure the mushrooms are still submerged in the brine.
- After a week, taste your mushrooms - they should be tangy and a bit sour. If not, leave them for another day or so - maybe longer in a cool climate.
- When the mushrooms taste good, Store them in a sterilised glass jar in the fridge.
- You’ve just made seriously delicious probiotic mushrooms!
These pickled mushrooms make great bruschetta with butter and herbs, or you can serve them as a side dish with just about anything...
Original recipe from milkwood.net
