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Corn relish - lactofermented and "normal"

We bought 8 corn cobs for $2 at the farmers market and knew we couldn't eat all of it and I really really wanted to try making relish (was hoping to grow corn, but that didn't work out), so it was a perfect opportunity to try a fermented relish and a vinegar relish based on these recipes:
They both started the same way, cut the corn from the cob, chop some capsicum, cucumber, tomato and blend.



For the vinegar relish I then cooked about half the corn/vege mixture with salt, sugar, vinegar, tumeric, cumin, mustard and pepper.


The other half of the mixture was mixed cold with whey, salt and coriander (by the way, I freeze the whey, so it hasn't been sitting the fridge since January!)


These are the finished products, lactofermented relish on the left, vinegar relish on the right.


Comparison:
  • I like the taste of both relishes, the lactofermented relish is "fresher" tasting, especially with the coriander.
  • The lactofermented relish is quicker to make, has less ingredients, and doesn't have to be cooked.  It will also last longer as I don't have a pressure canner to preserve the vinegar pickle for longer (and that's a bit pointless for one jar anyway!).
  • Lactofermenting results can be variable (in my experience so far) and don't always get eaten before they go off, but then neither does the vinegar pickle.
Just in case you think I'm a fermenting genius, below are two fermenting fails.  There are still some pickles that are ok, but this jar went mouldy and we never finished the sauerkraut, I think we just don't like it that much.  It has been fun to experiment though and to try new foods and preserving methods.


Do you ferment anything?
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Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 6, 2012 at 9:04 PM

    Hi just wanted say I love your posts. Keep them up.
    I read them everyday.
    I think I will try your corn ideas over the weekend.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sunnybrook FarmJuly 6, 2012 at 11:13 PM

    I can smell those spice combinations in my mind! So good with the vinegar.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Megan @ Purple Dancing DahliasJuly 7, 2012 at 2:40 PM

    I love fermenting our veggies but have had mix results using mason jars. I found a post the other day on how to make your own airlock lids for mason jars. She made 4 lids for a little over $8.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 9, 2012 at 8:50 PM

    thanks everyone :) love the airlock idea (I think I saw the same or similar post recently too), just haven't got around to it yet...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fiona from Arbordale FarmJuly 9, 2012 at 9:38 PM

    I have brought myself a cop of nourishing traditions but boy what a big book to get through. I have been enjoying your reviews and experiments

    ReplyDelete

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