For this week’s Fiesta Friday, I had planned to bring a beautiful purple drink made of dog violets which are growing everywhere around me today. They are so beautiful, and I wanted to preserve them in a festive way. I spent much time picking them, then I candied some which are still drying and that was a job and half in itself. I then made syrup which is something less than the remarkable blue I was aiming for. Here are some pictures of how I spent my morning. It was entertaining, but for nought.
In the meantime, I was ready to try my latest experiment – lacto-fermented ramps, which I hadn’t even intended to write about but they proved to be so good I wanted to share it with Angie’s guests, especially those who like me have never preserved anything this way before.
Lacto-fermentation is an age-old method of preserving which actually makes good food even better and more nutritious. The sugars in the food feed on bacteria that grow in the fermentation process, which converts the sugar to lactic acid and gives you all those great probiotics we hear much about.
There are so many recipes out there for fermenting just about anything you can think of, and such a variety of methods, I wasn’t quite sure I would be up for the task. Luckily for me, one article said all you needed besides the food you were fermenting was water, salt and clean jars. So that is all I used for this first foraged foray.
I sliced all my ramp leaves into strips, lay them on a large casserole dish and sprinkled salt on each layer. For about 4 cups of ramps, I used 2 tsp of fine sea salt. I let them sit for about 4 hours, hoping that the salt would draw out water. I even pressed them a little with a wooden spoon, but they remained pretty dry.
I then stuffed them in a sterilized jar, pressing them down as I did so as not to leave any air pockets. Then I covered them with non-chlorinated water, put a weight (a small glass jar) on top and covered them loosely with a lid. Every day, I checked that none of the green was surfacing and pressed the weight down a little if they were. After about three days I noticed a few white bubbles on the top which indicates that fermentation is happening. Finally today, the ninth day, I decided to give them a try. This jar below is not the one they were fermented in, which is why you can see air bubbles.
I knew I was onto something because they were delicious. The flavour of the ramps was intensified by this process, and they were a little more tangy than the steamed or fried ones I had tried just a week before. I could have added interesting spices and other flavours, but for my first attempt, wanted to make sure I understood the process. I served them just as they were, although I had several thoughts on how they could be used in other recipes – quiche, pizza, spreads and soups to name a few.
Maybe it was beginner’s luck, but I am so excited about all the possibilities this has opened up to me and look forward to continuing to experiment with this super economical and healthful method of preservation. Sadly, no more ramps this season, but as other plants mature in my garden, there should be plenty of new ingredients to keep me busy.
May 16, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Yum! I love that word “dog violets” and sorry you didn’t get to use them as planned, but these ramps look so chewy and sour and delicious! Funny, every once in a while when I don’t get the color I was hoping for I consider for a moment going out and buying food coloring!!!!
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May 16, 2014 at 2:41 pm
The thought of food colouring does cross my mind too. I think the colour would have been fine if I had just let the syrup cool completely before pouring it over the violets. Also, removing all bits of green would have helped, but would it have been worth it?
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May 16, 2014 at 3:51 pm
exactly my thought !
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May 16, 2014 at 2:43 pm
gosh you have so many wild foods we dont have x
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May 16, 2014 at 2:48 pm
And vice versa. Most of my recipes or rather ideas can be used with whatever wild foods you do have. I am always envious of foragers who live where such interesting ingredients can easily be found – and with a longer growing season than ours, but it is fun to try and use what you have when you have it. If you have any regional finds that can be used like this, I would love to hear about them.
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May 16, 2014 at 2:52 pm
I would probably poison myself
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May 16, 2014 at 11:24 pm
But we would still like to hear about it!
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May 17, 2014 at 7:27 am
🙂 mutters yeasty woman! X
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May 19, 2014 at 9:11 pm
I just poured 1 cup sugar syrup (2:1 sugar and water) over 4 cups of flowers. Two problems I believe – you have to remove all the green and the syrup should be cold. It looked like dirty laundry water, but still works as a syrup where the colour doesn’t matter.
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May 16, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Beautiful Hilda! I am going to learn so many new recipes in this fiesta.
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May 16, 2014 at 5:52 pm
delicious recipe!! congratulations! greetings from italy Simi
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May 16, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Wow, Hilda, this is a whole new world to me, they look so interesting!! What do they taste like??
Thank you so much for bringing these along to Fiesta Friday and sharing them with this weeks guests ☺️ Enjoy the party x
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May 16, 2014 at 6:16 pm
As will we all. I have already bookmarked two to make for this weekend.
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May 16, 2014 at 7:26 pm
Well the photos of the dog violets are beautiful anyway! 😉 And I’m ready to try your ramps! Happy Fiesta Friday!
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May 16, 2014 at 8:45 pm
I’ve never heard of ‘ramps’ before, so thank you for this – I’m with FireBonnet – ready to try your ramps!
Happy Fiesta!
Emma 🙂
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May 16, 2014 at 8:56 pm
Fermented greens! Great idea, although I thought it needed a starter culture. So, it can be done without it?
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May 16, 2014 at 11:02 pm
I also thought it needed whey or something. While I am interested to try the slightly more complicated one, I was pleased to be able to begin with something so easy. I think you will find other such recipes under vegan fermentation recipes – have yet to check them out myself, but intend to continue my research on it. Hope you try some.
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May 16, 2014 at 11:31 pm
Love the violets! I don’t get them here, not in my backyard at least. I’ve seen some purple in the wooded area behind my yard, but too afraid to get in there. Too dark for my liking. I haven’t even found ramps this year. I need to hustle. I made pickled dandelion buds that turned out amazing! Taste just like capers. Have you tried?
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May 19, 2014 at 9:09 pm
I just read about the dandelion buds. I gather they can be fermented or just soaked in brine. It sounds like a good idea – I am always looking for caper substitutes. Maybe I’ll give it a try if my back holds out with all that picking.
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May 19, 2014 at 9:22 pm
I can tell you it is a keeper, Hilda. I just put them in a jar, poured apple cider vinegar and salt, that’s it. About 2 weeks later, they’re done, and they lose much of their bitterness, if not all. I regret not making more. You really have to try.
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May 17, 2014 at 1:58 am
violets look beautiful had no idea you could eat them? ramps not sure what that is either, looks like hard work. Love foraging, I recently had sea grass which was great and also foraged, atlhough not by me though.
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May 17, 2014 at 4:26 am
Your violets are so beautiful, Hilda 🙂 You are so lucky to have such a wonderful flowers around your house!
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May 17, 2014 at 9:55 am
Very unusual – I really like the sound of this though. I wonder if it would work with baby leeks as I don’t have access to ramps. The violets are beautiful -would love to see what you ended up with! Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday!
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May 19, 2014 at 11:49 pm
I would think baby leeks would work very well, although I haven’t tried myself. My leeks are still embryos. I am going to try it with other greens though.
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May 18, 2014 at 12:10 am
Hilda, what an exciting process to learn about. I know nothing about lacto-fermentation and it’s fun to learn something new here. Those ramps look great with the eggs, and the dog violets are pretty to look at, even if they didn’t turn out for you.
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May 18, 2014 at 7:13 pm
How interesting! It sounds delicious! I will have to go on a hunt for ramps next year so I can pick some and I would love to try this 🙂
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May 19, 2014 at 9:27 am
Wow this looks so interesting! I have never fermented anything before but this looks yummy!
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May 19, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Thanks. I hope you do try them. I think you would be surprised at just how tasty there are. I have a couple more things brewing in the kitchen, and lots more ideas.
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