Citrus fruit: taste bombs for any occasion
Fermented citrus fruit
Salted lemon, lime and orange must be my most favourite fermented food discovery since becoming hooked on fermenting. I’m a huge fan of citrus fruit in any case. Nothing beats the tanginess of a freshly squeezed lime on a chilli with coriander! Or the addition of lemon and mint to ice cold water in the summer for a refreshing drink.
Add fermented fruit to the mix and woah! Not only that, but the permutations of flavour are never ending!
What’s the recipe?
The basic recipe to follow is incredibly simple. Obviously the usual hygiene precautions are important follow to minimise the risks of ‘nasties’, ensuring both utensils and fruit are clean. I then work on a ratio of approximately 800 grams fruit to 50 grams salt, quartering the fruit and then thoroughly mixing with the salt. It is at this point that I will then add any additional flavourings.
Once the fruit, salt and flavourings are then thoroughly mixed, transfer to an airtight glass jar (I like kilner jars) and pack down. As part of this process, ensure that you squeeze out the juice so that the top layer of fruit is submerged in the ‘briny fruit juice’. Once this is complete, I then sprinkle another 2.5 grams of salt over the top and put away in a dark cupboard on a plate (to catch dribbles).
Your ferment is now ready to let science take over! Climate does play a role in how long I leave the ferment (along with taste and texture…obvs). But if room temperature is a fairly steady 18 celsius, I leave for approximately 5-6 weeks.
Ensure to ‘burp’ your ferment regularly! These can be one of the more explosive ferments and you want to ensure your glass jars don’t explode, especially at the beginning of the process! After a good few weeks take one piece out of the mix and taste the skin! If it’s tough and the flesh isn’t gooey, leave for another week and try again. Keep doing this until you’re happy with the result! Once you’re happy with the result, transfer to the fridge to slow further fermentation down! Then, when you want to use, scrape out the flesh and chop up the skin.
Ingredients
- 800 grams unwaxed citrus fruit (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange)
- 50 grams course unrefined sea salt, and 2.5 grams to sprinkle on top
- Any other herbs of your choice
What citrus fruit can I use?
From my experience, their uses are endless, and largely dependent upon the flavour profile you choose. I keep plain fermented lemons as a staple in my larder. They make a fantastic addition to any green leafy salad. Go perfectly with a freshly made pesto, especially when combined with wild garlic with its own gut boosting profile. And make a great addition to sparkling water for a beautifully bitter and refreshing drink.
Aside from that, the world is your oyster! We have multiple varieties of mint growing in the garden and often find ourselves overwhelmed with it in the summer. In addition to both freezing and drying mint, we have found adding several bunches of mint to lemons is a great addition to both the flavour but also another option for preserving the fresh herbs. Adding this mix to sparkling water has also been a great drink to support me with my alcohol free journey! Meanwhile adding rosemary provides for a deliciously fragrant variation.
If you wish to move away from lemons there are wonderful choices with lime, orange and grapefruit (and any combination of these citrus fruit).
I have recreated my own ‘pickled lime chutney‘ adding turmeric, coriander, fenugreek and asafoetida! This was a great discovery given my wife doesn’t especially like spicy food so we could adapt to her preference. This obviously worked wonderfully with curry, but also sprinkled on top of chuck beef steak chilli with fresh coriander and chilli!
Take heed….
Just don’t forget that cooking kills off any of the good bacteria created through the fermentation process. Obviously if your goal is to add a diverse flavour profile to a recipe then this may not be such a concern for you. However if you want to capitalise on the health benefits of this wonderfully fermented citrus fruit then make sure you add at the end of cooking.
Also, don’t forget that these are salty. I tend not to cook with a lot of salt, but if you do and add these in to a recipe, (especially for instance in a pesto with a lot of parmesan) then maybe cut back a little on the added salt!
And lastly, salt and citric acid are a corrosive combination. If you do choose to keep in kilner jars, ensure you regularly clean the outside of the jars, in particular the metal. Otherwise you will find yourself having to replace the metal clasps regularly.
Otherwise, have fun and explore!