Okay, I know, you read the title and went, “how can carrot sticks change my life?!?!” I will admit, they will not make you rich, nor regrow hair, but they can improve your health!!
Sadly, in the last 100 years, fermented foods have all but disappeared from our diets in this county. Even the pickles you pick up in the store are not really fermented. *gasp* Really! Commercial pickles are made using vinegar (instead of just salt and water) and then they are pasteurized, which kills all the lactic acid bacteria. In fact most “fermented” food you can buy in the store have been pasteurized!
Why do we care about lactic acid bacteria? Because it is the “good guy” when it comes to a good balance of bacteria in your digestive tract…..it’s good for your gut!
Did you know in the United States, 35 million people suffer from irritable bowel syndrome!?!? Millions more suffer from gut issues like ulcers, indigestion, chronic constipation or diarrhea. By eating fermented food, you can balance out your gut and improve your health. So a carrot stick will change your life! And not just fermented carrot sticks, but any fermented veggie! We have already talked about how to make basic fermented foods, like sauerkraut and pickles on our Fermentation Friday series, so this week we are gonna kick it up a notch with some flavor!
How to make spicy red pepper carrot sticks
On my last round of fermenting, I got a little nuts. I was grabbing anything I could get my hands on and pulling things from my spice shelf. When I called my hubby and said “Do you think carrots and red pepper flakes would be good together?” his response was “Oh, ummm, I don’t think so.” Well boy was he wrong and I am so glad I didn’t listen to him! And the great part about this recipe is if you love heat, you can add as much red pepper flack as you like. If your more of a wuss, like my mom, well you can cut back on the amount *wink* Sorry, mom!
1.) In a pint jar, combine water and salt. The amount of salt you use, depends on how strong you want your brine. I used 1 TBS and 1 tsp of pink ancient Himalayan sea salt I got from Fermentools to get a 3.5% brine.
2.) Peel your carrots and cut them up into the desired stick size. Place them in an empty pint jar. Make sure you pack them in nice and tight.
3.) Drop in a couple peeled cloves of raw garlic. I added in just 1/4 tsp of dried red pepper flakes. A little goes a long way.
4.) Pour you brine solution in over your carrot stick, leave about an inch to the rim of your jar.
5.) I have a Fermentool kit, so I next placed my glass weight on top, put on the lid and airlock and set it on the counter to “do it’s thing.” If you don’t have a kit with an airlock (you should!) you will need to “burp” your jar ever few days.
6.) Let the carrots sit on the counter for around 5 days before transferring to the fridge.
I tasted my carrots on day 5 and they were good. By day 10, they totally rocked! The carrot sticks are firm, with a lovely taste. The red pepper flakes give it a nice low heat. And the after taste? Sometimes I eat a stick just so I can have that taste linger in my mouth! And as you can see by the almost empty jar below, the country kids like them too!
Not only are we preserving food, and learning a little science, we are as a family improving our lives….. one stick at a time.
“Pickling” food uses vinegar as the preserving agent, where as fermenting uses SALT. The salt is the kick in the butt, so to speak, to start the chemical process of breaking down the sugars in the food. Fermenting and Pickling are two different food preservation methods.
Looks good! I want to try radishes too 🙂 Green onions?
Radishes are the bomb!
That looks great! I have to try this someday….I'm so afraid of poisoning someone (myself included) but I have to drive a good 40 minutes to get to a store that sells fermented veggies. I'll have to check out Fermentools! (found you on inspire me Monday).
Don't be afraid…. this is VERY hard to mess up.
These sounds delicious! I love anything spicy:)
They are delicious. I am totally addicted to them. LOL
This is new to me, but having said that my mum pickles lemons and kum quats. She doesn't use brine water but adds heaps of salt directly to the fruit (needs to be completely dry)
You can ferment fruit in a brine but you need whey.
Awesome stuff. I'm just beginning my home fermenting adventure. Thank you for the good information.
Isn't fermenting fun!?!?!
Great idea! I love seeing your blog each week! Thank you so much for joining in the celebration tonight on #PureBlogLove , we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you next week on Thursday 8 pm est – through Sunday night.
Besos
Heidy
Awww thanks *blush*
This sounds fascinating. I have been reading all the posts regarding fermenting and I am definitely going to put this on my list of things to try for 2015. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
It is so easy, so fun and oh so yummy! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do… now get some salt and veggies and let's do this!
Thanks for sharing this again Mindie, it has reminded me to start looking at fermenting. Blessings
See, you need to do it! LOL
Looks great! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Thanks for the pin!
I love this idea. I really want to make more fermented veggies. They are sooo healthful! Thanks so much for sharing at The WeekendSocial. Hope to see you again Thursday 9:00 PM EST. http://www.theKitchenChopper.com
Wouldn't miss it 🙂
OH MY GOODNESS I need to try these. I am ashamed to say I have not canned on my own yet. My entire family is avid canners so they are always giving me things so I have never had a reason to do it myself, but after seeing this, its time to do it! My family would love these! We love hot veggies! Thanks for sharing at totally terrific tuesday! pinned!!
Hope you have a wonderful new year! I cant wait to see what the year has in store!
Jess @liverandomlysimple
Fermenting is fun (and sooo tasty!) I hope you give them a sot!
I haven't added red pepper to a fermentation, but spicy fermented carrots sounds like a great way to start! Thanks for stopping by and sharing this recipe with us – you're featured this week on Five Friday Finds! I'm looking forward to what you share this week. 🙂
Just a little red pepper goes a long way and really adds a kick. Thanks for the feature!
These look amazing!
My littlest (3) eats them hand over fist!
Love this! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Wouldn't miss it 🙂
Oh, very nice! I love carrot sticks fermented in water and salt, but have never tried them with red pepper flakes! I'll bet you could add other veggies to that mix just for fun. 🙂 Great post!
Kristi at Stone Family Farmstead
http://stonefamilyfarmstead.com/blog/
It adds just the right kick too em 🙂
Great idea! I may have to try that!
It adds just the right amount of kick to them!