Farm Ferments: Lacto-Fermented Bell Peppers

Do you have bell peppers – maybe slightly shrivelled now – hidden away in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer? Maybe more peppers than you know what to do with? Do what I do: ferment them!

Making lacto-fermented bell peppers is easy and they’ll keep for a lot longer in your fridge than fresh ones will. I use Cultures for Health’s Lacto-Fermented Sliced Jalapeños recipe, subbing bell peppers (also works great with poblanos).

After washing and coring the peppers, I sliced them into half-rings and packed them into a clean and sanitized canning jar. I then made brine (1 tablespoon of sea salt per pint of water) and poured it over the packed-down peppers. Each jar needed about 2.5 cups of brine. Once filled, I poured in a tablespoon of kombucha vinegar and secured the lids.

The peppers will begin bubbling soon, so regular burping of the jars will be needed (and I tend to overfill my jars, so I place them on a tray to catch the overflow liquid). After several weeks, they’ll be finished and ready to go into the fridge.

How can fermented bell peppers be used? They can replace fresh bell peppers in recipes: they’re superb in chili, and add nice flavor to chicken salad. Or eat them right out of the jar (well, take some out of the jar and eat it as is). Just don’t let those peppers go to waste when you can ferment them and benefit from their probiotic goodness!