Fermented Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries

by Cat, Dec 2013 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

After the great success of my Fermented Cranberry Relish, I was wondering what I’d do when I’ve used it up and I can’t get more cranberries until next Holiday season. Then I remembered that blueberries are closely related to cranberries, so perhaps they could be used instead. Plus my friend Shelli grows wonderful blueberries locally. I found a recipe on OhLardy blog (1) that assures me I can ferment these berries, as well as boysenberries, raspberries and blackberries, but NOT strawberries. I can do just one type of berry, or I can mix them up.

I will need less sweetener with these sweet berries, than is required for the tart cranberries. And I can use some freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice in place of some of the water. Can also add grated zest, or use the entire peel, cut into small pieces.

• Includes: 1. Fermented Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, or Mixture; 2. Fermented Berry Relish or Compote, with Nuts and Spices;
• See also: 1. Fermented Cranberry Relish; 2. Fermented Orange; 3. Peach Chutney; 4. Tropical Fruit Chutney;
• Other Sites: 1. Old Fashioned Blueberry-Basil Preserves recipe (2); 2. Learning with Herbs, Blueberry Soda recipe (3); 3. The Elliott Homestead, Lacto-Fermented Fruit Kvass (4); 4. SheSourceful Fermented Blueberry Chutney recipe (5)

This first recipe is just berries; the second recipe (my fav) uses berries, citrus, and nuts. Both use optional (but recommended) spices.

After mixing the ingredients, it is important to add a weight on top before covering the jar with cheesecloth and letting it sit in a cool spot on your counter. The weights keep the ingredients submerged so it is less likely they will attract mold. After 1-2 days on the counter, transfer the mix (with the weights and cheesecloth) to the fridge to continue the fermentation.

Feb 2022 update: Originally I used washed rocks for weights, but then I found some glass weights that are made to fit in a wide-mouth Mason jar (image, right, from Amazon (6)). I will test this soon.

Fermentation details: How/when to stir, and when to store the mix: 

NOTE about weights: you can use glass ones designed for wide-mouth Mason jars, or sterilized rocks/stones.The point is they have to be heavy enough to sink and compress the solid ingredients, and sterilized to avoid contamination.

1. Day 1:
   • After prepping the fermentation mix, press down on the mix (I use my mini potato masher) to be sure liquid has filled all the air spaces; if some air bubbles are stubborn, run a butter knife blade around the inside of the glass to break up the air bubbles (same trick used when canning fruits) and press down again. Add weight(s) and press down, cover with secured cheesecloth and let rest on countertop about 6-10 hours.
   • In evening, remove weight(s), give batch a good stir, from bottom-to-top and test to be sure no air bubbles. Press down, then restore weights and cover with secured cheesecloth, and let rest on countertop overnight. 
2. Day 2:
   • In morning, remove weight(s), give batch a good stir, from bottom to top, press down again, restore the weight(s) and cheesecloth.
   • In evening, do as in morning, then transfer to fridge to rest overnight.
3. Next 2-4 days (days 3 – 6) (in fridge):
   1. Repeat stirring, giving it a taste, then restoring the weight(s) and cheesecloth 2-times each day.
   2. Check taste after 48 hours in fridge, to determine if fermentation is complete. It should be tart and slightly sweet, with only a minimal salty taste. Continue to ferment longer if necessary.
   3. Transfer mix to storage Mason jars, with a little bit of liquid at the top, but must be at least 1-inch below top of jar. Cover with metal or plastic lids.
   4. Transfer any remaining fermentation liquid to a separate jar for future fermentations

 Fermented Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries or Mixture

This is based on the OhLardy! recipe (1) for Fermented Berries, and does not include the nuts and citrus from my Fermented Cranberry Relish Recipe. It’s just berries. If you are interested in the blueberries relish recipe, see the second recipe (below).

I’ve not tested this recipe, as I’m hooked on the second recipe (below) that includes orange, nuts and spices.

NOTE: To protect your health, use only Organically-grown berries; and always sterilize jar, lid, weights, etc. before adding ingredients.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 2 cups individual or mixed berries; use any berries except strawberries
• 2 Tbsp raw local honey (my preference) or Rapadura sugar (I don’t recommend agave nectar)
• 2 – 4 Tbsp liquid from another lacto-fermentation product (or ½ tsp culture starter mixed with a few Tbsp water)
• ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt
• filtered water (or combo of water and juice from an orange)
• optional spices: ⅛ – ¼ tsp of each desired spice; options include allspice, cardamom, cinnamon clove, ginger (I use cardamom &/or cinnamon)
• Equipment
• wide mouth pint Mason or Pickl-it jar and lid
• glass or other weights (to fit in the jar); see image above, right
• measuring cup or small bowl
• pounder, potato masher, wooden spoon or your fist
• piece of clean cheesecloth to cover top of jar

Method:

1. Sterilize Mason jar(s).
2. Put the berries into mason jar.
3. Push them down a bit – I use my mini potato masher
4. Mix starter culture with a few tbsp water (if not using liquid from another lacto-ferment), sweetener, and a pinch of salt in measuring cup, stirring to dissolve as much as possible, then add to berries.
5. Fill jar with filtered water, leaving 1 inch head space.
6. Press down (I use my mini potato masher) to be sure liquid has filled all the air spaces; if some air bubbles are stubborn, run a butter knife blade around the inside of the glass to break up the air bubbles (same trick used when canning fruits) and press down again.
7. Cover jar(s) with piece of clean cheesecloth and secure with string or rubber band. Leave at room temp for 1-2 days, preferably 68 degrees F or less. The warmer the room, the less time, but 48 hours is max to avoid alcohol production. Each day, give the batch a good stir, from bottom to top.
8. After the 1-2 days, cover with jar lid(s) and place in fridge, but continue to stir and check them daily.
9. How to determine if fermentation is complete (see Fermentation Details, above, for more detail):  Check taste after 48 hours in fridge. It should be tart and slightly sweet, with only a minimal salty taste. Continue to ferment longer if necessary.
10. When complete, transfer to smaller jars, and cover with jar lids.
11. Store in the refrigerator.  Use within 2 months.

Fermented Berry Relish or Compote, with Citrus, Nuts and Spices

This is based on the above recipe for Fermented Berries (above) and my Fermented Cranberry Relish recipe. The later adds nuts, citrus and spices. You could also add golden raisins and some type of chile to make more of a chutney (see my recipe for Chutney (Lacto-Fermented Fruit, Veg, Nuts and Spices).

Berries: Raspberries, blackberries, Marion berries, boysenberries, blueberries and huckleberries work well in this recipe, tho I’ve not yet tried huckleberries for this version; I do not recommend strawberries.

NOTE: To protect your health, use only Organically-grown berries and nuts; and always sterilize jar, lid, weights, etc. before adding ingredients.

Spices: I recommend any of the following: allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger (especially grated fresh ginger-root), or Garam Masala spice mix. I’ve never tried coriander or turmeric, but they may also be good. See my Herbs and Spices (About) Menu for more about these.

I love the berry & nut combination in my Fermented Cranberry Relish, so I decided to try the following combos:

• 2 cups blueberries, ⅓ cup pecans and ⅛ – ¼ tsp cinnamon and/or cardamom, with 2 – 4 Tbsp whey, 2 Tbsp raw local honey or Rapadura sugar, and ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt. Lemon juice and zest would also be good with this combo. I’ve tested this, and it is my FAVORITE!
• 2 cups raspberries, ⅓ cup almonds, ⅛ – ¼ tsp allspice or cinnamon, and 1 – 2 tsp grated fresh ginger, with 2 – 4 Tbsp whey, 2 Tbsp Rapadura or raw local honey, and ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt. As of Aug 2020, I’ve not yet tested this as I LOVE the blueberry version, but I got lots of raspberries this summer (2013) so may do that soon.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 2 cups individual or mixed berries (any Organic berries except strawberries)
• ⅓ cup chopped Organic pecans or almonds, optional (pecans are my fav)
• 1 Organic orange and/or 1-2 lemons, for the juice, flesh and peel
• ½ tsp lemon zest or 2 – 3 tsp orange zest (if not using the whole orange/lemon)
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice (optional)
• 2 Tbsp raw local honey (my preference) or Rapadura sugar (I don’t recommend agave nectar, especially if you are pre-diabetic or type-2 diabetic)
• 2 – 4 Tbsp liquid from another lacto-fermentation product (or ½ tsp culture starter mixed with a few Tbsp water) (I use the fermentation liquid from previous batch of blueberry relish or fermented orange)
• ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt
• Spices of your choosing (see suggestions above)
  • For blueberry relish, I add ⅛ – ¼ tsp each cinnamon and cardamom.
  • Allspice, clove or fresh ginger are other options.
    
    

    Kuhn Rikon Food Chopper

• filtered water
• Equipment:
• wide mouth quart or 2 ea pint Mason or Pickl-it jar with lid
• glass or other weights (to fit in the jar); see image above, right
• measuring cup or small bowl
• food chopper (for berries and nuts, instead of a blender); photo, right, from pricefalls.com (7)
• pounder, potato masher, wooden spoon or your fist
• piece of clean cheesecloth to cover top of jar(s)

Method:

1. Sterilize Mason jar(s) and lid(s).
2. Prep berries: Rinse and drain berries, then put them into mason jar. Push them down a bit to break them up – I use my mini potato masher. Alternately, use a blender on the lowest speed, which is what I do,
3. Prep citrus such as a lemon, orange or grapefruit; two options:
   1. I use all parts of a whole orange:
      • Squeeze out most of the juice; separate the flesh from the peel, chop it and add both juice and flesh to the berries;
      • Then slice peel (including the white pith) into thin strips, and cut them into ¼″ pieces, and add to the berries mix. I include the bitter pith (part of the peel) because it provides several health benefits.
   2. Alternately, squeeze the juice from the citrus and grate the zest from the peel (save the pith for another use); add juice and zest to the berries. You may add additional zest if desired.
4. Prep nuts: If using pecans or whole almonds, chop them into ¼″ pieces; if using sliced almonds cut each slice in half. Add nuts to the berry mix.
5. Fermentation starter: Mix powdered starter culture with a few Tbsp water; OR use liquid from another ferment; add, sweetener, and a pinch of salt in measuring cup, stirring to dissolve as much as possible, then add to berry mix.
6. Add filtered water to mostly fill the jar, leaving 1 inch head space.
7. Ready to ferment: (see detail section, above the 2 recipes for more detail).
   1. Press down on the mix (I use my mini potato masher) to be sure liquid has filled all the air spaces; if some air bubbles are stubborn, run a butter knife blade around the inside of the glass to break up the air bubbles (same trick used when canning fruits) and press down again.
   2. Each day, give it a good stir, moving some from bottom to top of jar.
   3. Place glass or other weight(s) on top of mix, then
   4. Cover jar(s) with piece of clean cheesecloth and secure with string or rubber band. Leave at room temp for 1-2 days, preferably 69-70°F for optimum fermentation. The warmer the room, the less time, but 48 hours is max to avoid alcohol production. Each day, remove the weight(s), and give the batch a good stir, from bottom to top, press down again (I use potato masher), then restore the weight(s) and cheesecloth.
8. After 1-2 days, cover with jar lid(s) and place in fridge, but continue to stir and check them daily.
9. How to determine if fermentation is complete (see Fermentation Details, above, for more detail): Check taste after 48 hours in fridge. It should be tart and slightly sweet, with only a minimal salty taste. Continue to ferment longer if necessary.
10. When complete, transfer to smaller jars, and cover with jar lids.
11. Store in the refrigerator.  Use within 2 months.

Testing:

First recipe (no nuts, etc)

x

Second recipe (with nuts, etc)

10/29 – 11/8/20: I’ve made this a couple times before, without recording the testing. This time, made as written: used 2 cups frozen Organic blueberries, thawed and chopped up in my blender; also 1 large Valencia orange, removed seeds, broke-up the flesh in blender, cut peel including pith into small pieces (less than ¼″ cubes); and chopped pecans with a knife. Mixed all together in sterilized quart Mason jar, added spices, unrefined sea salt, raw local honey, and brine from previous batch, and mixed to combine; added enough filtered water to cover the mix. Wrapped a towel around the jar and let it rest on counter overnight. Stirred daily, then divided into 2 sterilized pint jars on 11/1; a little too much liquid, so I poured some off into a half-pint jar for future cultures. 11/8 taste test (a week in fridge): It is not bubbly, so likely not forming alcohol; however, its taste has a sharp punch indicating alcohol amidst the wonderful fruity-sweet flavor. I love it!

2/27 – 3/6/22:  The last batch got infected with mold because I forgot to add weights to the jar. Earlier this year, I found glass weights (with a handle) made for fermenting in a wide-mouth Mason jar, so I decided to try again, using a weight. I will use a powdered culture for this batch, since the previous batch was mold-contaminated. One packet of culture is good for “5 lbs veg;” I didn’t weigh the fruits but I estimate about 24 oz (1.5 lb), so use about ¼ of the packet. However, it wasn’t easy to measure that small amount; so accidentally used ½ packet. Oh well…

2/27, ~ 10 AM: Used sterilized wide-mouth Mason jars with sterilized glass weight to combine ingredients: Organic blueberries, half of a very large Valencia orange, pecans, local honey, cardamom and cinnamon. Chopping the berries in my blender made them too small, and it’s hard to get all the chopped fruit out of the blender. So next time, I’ll use the same nut chopper that I use for the nuts (see photo, above).  I mistakenly added salt/spices, about 1 g powdered culture (half the packet), and a little bit of water to the jar before reading the instructions for the powdered culture (salt/spices/culture are to be mixed in water before adding to the fruit/veg). Added filtered water and stirred all well; divided mix between 2 pint Mason Jars, pressed down with my small potato-masher, then added a glass weight with handle (6) for each jar (they sank below the liquid surface), and covered with cheesecloth (secured with rubber band). 4:30 PM, set on counter to ferment. 2/28, 10 AM: removed submerged weights to give each jar a good stir and a taste (not ready yet – quite sweet); then replaced weights, pushing them down, re-covered jars with cheesecloth. 10 pM: stirred & tasted again (not ready yet) this evening. 3/1, 10 AM: Gave the jars a good stir and a taste (still quite sweet), then replaced the weights & re-covered with cheesecloth. 6:15 PM: Repeated again; both jars are not as sweet but not yet tart. Covered weights and cheesecloth, and placed in fridge. 3/2, 4:30 PM: Removed from fridge and repeated testing again; same as yesterday evening: not as sweet as before but not yet tart. Will leave on counter until bedtime, then return to fridge overnight. 3/5, 2 PM: Removed from fridge. 5:45 PM Tested again – still more sweet than tart. It’s been 6 days, so decided to add more powdered culture (remaining half -packet), and left on counter overnight. 3/6, 11:15 AM: Tested again; fairly bubbly (a good sign); left on counter overnight. 3/7, 9 AM:  Tested again – even more bubbly and slightly tart; moved to fridge. 3/8, 9 AM: Tested again, bubbly, a bit tart and not very sweet. Left on counter until 5 PM, when I filtered off most of the juices to save for future culture. Transferred some of the mix to a small jar for daily smoothie, and combined remainder in one pint Mason jar with glass lid, for future use; placed saved culture juice, small jar and pint jar in fridge. HOORAY!

References:

1. OhLardy! Fermented Berries recipe: ohlardy.com/lactofermented-berries
2. Katy She Cooks, Old Fashioned Blueberry-Basil Preserves recipe: katymcarter.com/2012/07/old-fashioned-blueberry-basil-preserves
3. Learning with Herbs, Blueberry Soda recipe: learningherbs.com/soda_recipe.html
4. The Elliott Homestead, Lacto-Fermented Fruit Kvass recipe: theelliotthomestead.com/2012/01/lacto-fermented-fruit-kvass
5. SheSourceful Fermented Blueberry Chutney recipe shesourceful.com/2012/06/14/recipe-fermented-blueberry-chutney-2
6. Amazon weights: amazon.com/4-Pack-Fermentation-Glass-Weights-Handle/dp/B076V66FZ4/ref=sxts_rp_s_a1_0
7. Nut chopper: pricefalls.com/product/kuhn-rikon-swiss-vegetable-chopper/28630170.