Quick Pickling or Lacto-Fermentation: Which Food Preservation Method is Right for You?

Both methods are a fantastic way to add delicious fruits and vegetables to your diet and a great way to preserve your harvest.

By Jenny Underwood
Updated on October 7, 2021
article image
by Flickr/Mark Angelini
Fermented sauerkraut.

Last month, I wrote about some very common and useful food preservation methods.  Just like everything, each method has its pros and cons. This installment will address some more of my favorite preservation methods: lacto-fermentation and quick pickling.

These two methods have been around for ages. Who really knows when they were first used? From what I’ve read, pickling has been around since at lease 2400 BCE! Lacto-fermentation has also been around for thousands of years.  If something is still being used after that long, then it is probably worth taking a look at in our kitchens.

Pickling

Basically, pickling its preserving a food in acid, such as vinegar — most often in white or apple cider — or salt water. I use vinegar in my pickling. You can pickle a ton of foods, from relishes, cucumber pickles (obviously), to pickled eggs and pickled pigs feet (that one’s probably not for me). Find a good pickling recipe for the food you want to preserve. Prepare your produce by chopping into uniform sizes. Make sure you are using quality produce. Wilted, over-ripe, or diseased food should be avoided.

If your recipe calls for a brine, prepare this and allow your food to soak in it for the required time. Then drain and add the hot vinegar, salt, and water mixture as directed. Put the brined food in jars and allow to sit for specified time. Then, either refrigerate or can your creation for long-term storage.

I often take peppers (hot or sweet) and slice them in even slices before placing in a jar. After packing, I fill with the jar with vinegar and put a lid on and refrigerate. These are absolutely delicious in place of store-bought pepper rings or pickled jalapenos. If you want to store them out of the fridge, you will need to water-bath can them 10 minutes. They’ll keep in your refrigerator for months just as they are, though! You can also prepare onions like this and use a refrigerator cucumber pickle recipe too.

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