Fermented Blueberries

Here's another recipe from The Noma Guide to Fermentation! This book is basically the new bible of fermenting. Have you ever heard of fermented blueberries? No? Me neither, until my husband sent me an article from New Yorker Magazine. The article discussed this cookbook and shared this specific recipe. I had to try it!

There are only 2 ingredients in this recipe: blueberries and salt. Pretty simple, right? But I still managed to screw it up.

Apparently, you are supposed to rinse the berries before beginning the recipe. I somehow missed this step. My berries didn't rot, probably because it's so freaking cold in my house! But after a week, there was a distinct lack of fermentation. Not a whole heck of a lot was happening inside my giant jar of blueberries and salt. But I decided not to give up. Maybe my berries just needed more time...

I added a little more weight, to press the berry mixture down more firmly. This helped the berries release more of their liquid, which mixed with the salt, and created more brine. After a few more days, my mixture had enough brine to completely cover all the berries.

I've been tasting each day, waiting for the fermentation to be perfect. So far, no fizziness and no tartness. Normally this process takes about 4-5 days, but because our house is so cold, it seems to be taking a lot longer. I'm still confident I will eventually get results!

Ingredients:

1 kilogram of blueberries
20 grams non-iodized salt

Rinse blueberries with water and drain well.

In a large bowl, gently mix blueberries with salt. Salt should coat each blueberry. Any pockets of berries which haven't been salted will not ferment. Transfer mixture to fermentation vessel--a large glass canning jar or ceramic crock. Be sure to scrape all salt into the mixture. Add a weight to press mixture down--a heavy-duty ziplock bag filled with water will work. Cover container with lid, but don't tighten it down. Air will need to escape from jar as mixture ferments.

Fermentation will take about 4-5 days at 82F. The cooler the temperature, the longer it will take to ferment. Begin tasting the berries daily after the fermentation begins. There should be some sourness in addition to the blueberry aroma and natural sweetness.

Once the mixture has reached the desired level of fermentation, store berries and juice (together or separately) in the fridge. Serve berries over yogurt, in a shake, or in a savory sauce. ENJOY!