You will love this naturally fermented salsa, made with simple ingredients and packed full of nutrients, probiotics and natural enzymes!
Salsa is one of those things that always needs to be readily on hand at home. Whether for use with tacos, or as a dip with chips… or simply for those who just want to eat it with a spoon out of the jar.
Wait.. that might just be my kids though – who knows!
Why ferment salsa?
Most of us are used to the salsa stocked on store shelves. In order for it to stay on the store shelf, it has to be pasteurized at high temps in vinegar. Not only does that kill the microbes in the salsa, it keeps it shelf stable for years.
A shelf stable salsa that keeps for years will eventually sell. Someone will buy it. Right?
Although that salsa holds a great deal of fresh veggies, those veggies aren’t as useful as they could be if the salsa was fermented. Not to mention it sits in plastic. Yikes and yikes.
For under $5, you can make your own fermented salsa at home. It’s relatively easy to put together, requires just a few days to ferment, and is super healthy for the gut.
Fermented salsa will keep for months in the refrigerator – unless of course you eat it quickly. Which you might — because we certainly do. It is indeed delicious stuff.
Fermented salsa at home
Making fermented salsa at home is a breeze. With just a few simple ingredients you can make this fermented salsa quite easily.
First, dice the tomatoes and toss into a large bowl, keeping as much of the juice as you can. In the bowl of the food processor, add your serrano peppers (stems removed), garlic, and cilantro. Whizz for a good 20-30 seconds.
Now dump that mixture in the bowl with the tomatoes, then add in your diced onion. Mix it well with your (clean) hands. Now you have two options:
Weigh the mixture (tare the weight of the bowl) – calculate 2% of the weight of the mixture and that is your salt for fermenting
Or.. calculate about 2 Tbsp per quart jar, 1 Tbsp per pint.
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Sprinkle the salt on the mixture in the bowl and give it a good mix with your hands. Cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes to allow it time to sweat (release the natural juice). Then, pack it into jars. This recipe makes 2 quarts + 1 pint.
Push a jelly jar in the mouth of each canning jar, which serves the purpose of pushing the salsa under its own brine. Top with an airlock, and set aside to the rear of the counter for 3-4 days. The mixture should start to show bubbles after 24 hours.
After 4 days, remove the airlock and place a regular canning lid and ring on. When refrigerated, this salsa will last for several months (although it won’t last that long!)
(If you haven’t yet done so, don’t forget to check out this delicious fermented hot sauce, too!)
Fermented Salsa
Ingredients
- 6 tomatoes large
- 1 onion large
- 4 serrano peppers stem removed
- 2 C cilantro packed
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 Tbsp sea salt *non iodized
Instructions
- Dice the tomatoes and onion on a cutting board and set them in a large bowl. Keep as much of the juice from the tomatoes you can.
- Pour the juice off the tomatoes in the bowl straight into the food processor. Add your garlic cloves, whole serrano peppers and cilantro. Give it a whizz for 15-20 seconds if not more.
- Combine the contents of the food processor with the tomatoes - in the same bowl. Mix it up with a spoon or clean hands.
- Weigh out the contents of the bowl and add 2% of the weight in salt. Or calculate 2 Tbsp of salt for each quart of salsa.
- Sprinkle the salt on the contents of the bowl. Work it in with clean hands. Lightly cover the mixture and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.
- Pack the mixture between 2 wide mouth quart jars and one pint jar. Place a jelly jar in the mouth of each jar, taking care to push down the contents of the jar so that the salsa is under the natural brine (no additional water should have to be added because there should be enough brine).
- Place an airlock on each jar. Allow to sit for 3-4 days - over time you'll see bubbling activity. Remove the airlock and place a regular canning lid on each jar.
- Refrigerate and consume within 5-6 weeks. Refrigeration will slow down, but not halt, the fermentation process.
Nutrition
Have you ever thought of making fermented salsa?
If you give this recipe a try, please leave a comment, rate the recipe and be sure to tag me on Instagram!
Can I use dehydrated smoked peppers?
I wouldn’t, I’d use fresh.