Lacto-fermented turnips

Sywinn and I were talking about this today. If ou find yourself with a few extra turnips, you can make a quart of this. Far and away the best way to eat turnips, IMO. So, so good and good for you. Also, incidentally, the only ferment that Hugo would happily eat besides pickles.

This will seem very easy, and it is.

5 pounds turnips
3 tablespoons salt
Wide mouthed glass or lead-free vessel. If you are making a lot you can use a fod grade bucket.

1) Chop the turnips. We made them this year in like steak and shake fry thickness and about an inch long. Perfect. You can also grate them witha food processor, but they will not be as crunchy that way.

2) Place one layer of turnips in your jar. Sprinkle with salt. You ca pound them down a little.

3) add another layer of turnips and salt.

When you are done using your salt and turnips, you will need to weigh down the turnips. A plate that covers them with a jar filled with water over it is fine. You can cover the whole thing loosely with a cloth. Do not seal it to air.

Within a couple hours, the weight should have pushed all the turnips under water - the turnips will release quite a bit of water.

After a few days, wipe away any mold and check the taste. The most important thing is to make sure the turnips are under the brine. After 2-4 weeks, refrigerate. It will keep for several months in the fridge.

Thats it!

This is also, incidentally, how you make saurkraut, old-fashioned pickles, kim-chi and any number of other sour vegetables. Beets and kale are really great this way too.

Fermentation is a very healthy way to preserve the harvest - each bite of raw femented veggies will be full of the same kind of healthy bacteria that you get in yogurt, in addition to other healthy stuff. A fermented veggie is pretty salty, but less so than, say a vinegar pickle.

Enjoy!