Fermented Zucchini | Fermenting for Beginners

[@LiveableDreams]

The cutting board is no joke. Love it

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Pretty cool, huh? A pastor from our old church is a wood worker and he made this one for us. Really love the feel of end grain boards.

[@dianaj3139]

I have been watching your other channel, but didn't realize this channel existed... Cannot wait to start fermenting! I did do some Mexican Red Onions last summer with similar ingredients but with apple-cider vinegar... Delicious! Thank you so much for sharing all that you put up for us to learn from.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey Diana. We started this channel before the farm was really up and running wanted to share a few recipes. We don't post nearly as often these days as busy as we are! We have a bumper crop of onions this year, so we're looking forward to Summer fermenting!

[@barbebrown7753]

That sounds delicious! Love zucchini and all the little extras you threw in.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

This really is a good one Barbe. We were very surprised just how well this turned out!

[@franchescawetter8423]

I love zucchini! Can't believe I've never tried fermenting it! Making this this week!! Thanks for the recipe guys!

[@franchescawetter8423]

Also, I know Lori is camera shy but she did so good on this video! 👏😊

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey Franchesca! This is quickly becoming one of our absolute favorite ferments...besides pretty much every wine out there I suppose! ;)

[@Katgirl2024]

I am binging your channels while recovering from Covid. I love ferments! I assume the turmeric is for the health benefits…does it change the taste much? Love to see more content from this channel, too!😃

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey Kathy! Sorry to hear about your bout of Covid. Hopefully the road to recovery is short! We're huge fans of fermentation, so a lot of the first few episodes here were focused on it. The turmeric is both for the health benefits as well as the taste for this particular recipe. This is one of our absolute favorite ferments, so I highly suggest giving it a try!

[@Katgirl2024]

I am absolutely trying this as soon as I’m well!

[@roywoodruff8161]

I could have used this about two months ago. I had tons of zucchini this year - ended up flash freezing three huge bags of it that we will use throughout the fall and winter. Next year, probably will try this - it looks awesome! Just pulled out my zucchini plants - they were done - had to make room for pumpkins which I will plant later this month. Don't think you can (or better yet, should) ferment pumpkin! LOL!

[@marschlosser4540]

Pumpkin wine used to be popular, and a brandy made from that. I think the old women would roast them first to bring out the sugar.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey Roy! Yeah, this is definitely a little late for most of us in the Southwest. Hopefully, there's a few folks out there who are just getting into the thick of harvest that can use this one. If you're a fan of fermented foods, this is definitely a good one to try out. We have been pleasantly surprised how good these taste!

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

@@marschlosser4540 Mmm, pumpkin wine actually sounds amazing! Would need to spice it a bit I think.

[@danielfisch655]

Looks delicious, we have to try this one and thanks for sharing.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey Daniel. We were thinking of you guys when we put this one together, because we know how much you guys enjoy these fermented food recipes. They definitely do much better during the summer months when it's warmer in the house!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

Awesome thank you! I have an insane amount of zucchini this year! New sub.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

This is one of our all time favorite recipes and a great way to store away all that zucchini!

[@nancytownsel419]

Loved this video. Who knew to ferment zucchini. LOL I learned something new. Thank you.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Glad you enjoyed this one Nancy. We've been pleasantly surprised how good this one turned out!

[@CaptFoster5]

Okay, so I wrote down you recipe and will ferment my garden grown zucchini later this week ... I also grew onion, but all the other ingredients have to be store bought this year. I will attempt to grow everything shown next year. I will be back with an *edit* update after I make my first batch next week.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Looking forward to what you think of this one David. This may be one of our favorite ferments as far as veggies go. Well, technically fruit I suppose.

[@LCamp-cr7fs]

Those who read descriptions in the video info box have an advantage. I just found this channel by doing just that. I have to points. Have you heard of Sandor Katz? His book, Wild Fermentation, is famous as he covers about every fermentation process. Secondly, preserving and storing your harvest is important. I can imagine that your climate brings extra challenges.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Glad you found our channel here. It's an offshoot of our farming channel that we have set aside for healthy recipes and the like. I have heard of Sandor Katz, but have not read that book. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@subwaymirdif]

She does the work and he talks😂

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

It did work out that way!! 😂

[@terrim.602]

New sub!

[@FamFon1]

Can you use coffee filter for the fermenting process ? ❤

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hmm, I'm not sure what you're asking for this one. Where are you wanting to use the filter? Is it at the end of the process to strain it?

[@marschlosser4540]

How did your garlic do? And, that's a great cutting board. Zucchini is good in pasta primavera. Other than that and pickles, erk. During the Great Depression, there were many who lived from month to month on kraut and pickles. Fermenting raises the level of protein and vitamins, especially C.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Ah yes, the garlic. We need to get another batch going this summer while it's still warm in the house. We don't have enough from the garden this year to make a solid batch, but it's just hard to beat fermented garlic. Good note on that Vitamin C benefit in fermenting. With these videos I (Duane) try not to geek out too much on the holistic aspects of the food we prepare, but one of these days....

[@marschlosser4540]

@@HealthyFarmLiving Nothing wrong with a little geekiness :) According to Mark Roeder geeks will inherit the earth, thanks to the computer age. I was a jock but hate bullies and helped fight it. Always go on well with the brainiacks. Net result, fair to good grades in school. I'm seriously thinking of starting the California White Giant in September. It doesn't store as well as the Ajo Rojo (a Creole/Mediterranean type). The soil is sandy loam/adobe with high carb content. and should be perfect for southern garlic. And isn't. hasta, kids.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

@@marschlosser4540 had to look up those varieties and both look amazing! Maybe a bit of both is in order!

[@liverocks62]

Love to try that. Does it have any sweetness?

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

You're really going to enjoy this if you're a fan of pickles and want to have a way of storing zucchini. I think the amount of sweetness you'll have is dependent on the fruit. We've found that our homegrown zucchini is much sweeter than store-bought, so I would expect more sweetness from those.

[@tc7878]

do you have to eat it 7-10 days after putting it together to ferment? Or can you keep on shelf longer? I have tons to ferment. how much sea salt per filtered water for these?

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey T C. The fermenting is done in 7-10 days, so at that point you'll want to refregerate it. From there it can last months but remember it will continue to ferment over time, albeit very slowly. The ratio of water to salt is 2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of sea salt.

[@divinabalazo]

Do you burp it daily while it’s fermenting?

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

The lids that you see us using here continually release the air during the fermentation process, so no need to manually burp them.

[@lillianlin8154]

I just wondering if I add apple cider vinegar and honey or sugar will spoil the taste?

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey there Lillian. The only issue with adding vinegar is you may wind up killing other beneficial bacteria that is growing in your ferment. Honey would not be an issue at all. In fact, it can only help. That being said, I'm not sure how it would taste as this has a very rich flavor on it's own. Maybe set a bit aside and give it a shot before adding into the whole batch?

[@lillianlin8154]

@@HealthyFarmLiving Thank you

[@jamesvoigt7275]

I ferment a lot of vegetables. When I add honey (or other sweetener), it makes the end result MORE sour. What a paradox! The reason is that it gives the bacteria more food to eat; then they produce more lactic acid which is the sour we taste. Who knew? If you want them more sweet, add the sweetener after the fermenting process is complete.

[@daWoody01]

Sorry, this may be a dumb question, but isn't this just pickling? Is there enough yeast/bacteria in the air to ferment the vegetables, or did I miss something? Thanks.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Great question Dan and it's a bit different from pickling. The primary difference is the beneficial bacteria that you'll cultivate by fermenting. The taste is similar to pickling, but not quite the same. Depending on how long you leave it to ferment it can be very mild or close to a vinegar type pickling, but we find it starts to get a bit too soft after about 7 days and it's still much milder than a traditional vinegar based pickling at that point. For us the beneficial bacteria is our primary reason for fermenting these and during the summer months we have had very good success with the natural occurring yeast/bacteria in the house.

[@smoothemoveexlax]

pickling also removes most of the lectins from the zucchini. Lectins prevent your body from properly absorbing the nutrients.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Yet another reason to get that fermentation on!! 😉

[@terrim.602]

How much fermented foods should a person eat per day to improve gut health and brain health, among other things? Can I use the juice as a tbls per day for probiotic? Also, can apple cider vinegar be a part of the brine?

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Hey there Terri. Glad you found the channel and are enjoying the content. I don't know of a limit on the amount of fermented foods one can consume, but you will want to slowly introduce them if you're not eating them on a regular basis. It takes time for your gut to adjust to the increased bacteria load and going with too much too soon, can cause some gas and bloating. While you can add vinegar at the end of the process, you wouldn't add that to the initial brine as it will inhibit the growth of the Lactobacillus bacteria needed to ferment the veggies. We haven't used ACV for a brine for pickling foods, but that may be something worth trying. As for drinking the fermented brine, absolutely! Same here though with taking it easy as it is chock full of beneficial bacteria that can still be overdone if you're not careful.

[@wackyrice1]

. . I bet that would be good with a hot pepper dropped into the jar.

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

That would definitely kick it up a notch!

[@Mifaroicazzimieidaadessoinpoi]

Stuffed zucchini!

[@HealthyFarmLiving]

Oh yes, that is one of our favs as well!