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Plate with a jar of fermented salsa and tortilla chips and a sprig of fresh cilantro

Fermented Salsa Recipe

Food For Life Garden
Fermented salsa is a highlight of fermented vegetables. Capture the vibrance of summer and enjoy it during the gloomy winter season. Add pizzazz to your meals and reap the benefits of probiotic lacto-fermented foods for gut health and immune support.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Fermenting 2 days
Total Time 2 days 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Servings 2 Quarts

Equipment

  • A fermentation container -This recipe is for a half gallon mason jar, but you can adjust the recipe to use any size jar. Best is a glass container. Don't use metal and if you use plastic, make sure it's bpa-free and food grade.
  • Fermentation weight - Optional but highly recommended! My favorite is a glass weight that fits into the opening of a wide mouth mason jar. You can also get a ceramic weight for larger jar openings. Alternatively, use a plastic baggie filled with salt brine, marbles or small rocks. Or you can use a clean rock or a plate matched to the size of your container.
  • A lid - I recommend a fermentation lid or airlock lid for fermenting. Or, use a mason jar lid and screw it on just finger-tight and the gasses will push their way out on their own. You can also use a piece of cloth, secured with a rubber band.
  • A large bowl to mix the ingredients
  • Cutting board and knife - You can chop or blend your vegetables. I prefer hand chopping all of the ingredients, but if you like the pieces very small, you can get some help from a manual chopper or electric food processor. If you prefer it to be a sauce, then use a blender.
  • A wide mouth funnel
  • A large spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 6 large tomatoes - Any tomatoes will work.
  • 2 medium peppers - Any peppers will work. Try mixing green, red, orange, and yellow peppers to add more color to the mix.
  • 2-10 jalapeno or serrano peppers - Adjust to your preference. If you're not a hot and spicy food lover, use just one or two serranos or jalapenos, or try mild jalapenos, or leave them out all together.
  • 1 large Onion - Any onions will do; red, white, yellow, green or sweet onions.
  • 4 cloves Garlic - Adjusted to preference. I'd suggest 4 cloves of garlic for a nice garlic flavor.
  • 1 bunch Cilantro - Add as much as you like, but half a cup of chopped cilantro greens for a half gallon batch of salsa is about perfect.
  • 2-3 tbsp Redmond's Real Salt, Himalayan pink salt, Celtic sea salt, or pickling salt - I use 2 tablespoons of salt for a half gallon batch of salsa. If your room temperature is very warm or if you prefer more salt (taste it!) it's fine to use up to 4 tablespoons. The salt you use should be additive free, so avoid table salt.
  • 1 tbsp Lime Juice or the juice of 1 Lime - If you can get fresh limes, use them! They are much better than bottled. Use the juice of one lime per half gallon of salsa or to your preference.
  • 2 tbsp Optional: Starter Culture - I do not normally use starter culture, but you can use a few tablespoonfuls of brine from a completed vegetable ferment. Otherwise, you can also use whey. With added starter culture, you can reduce the amount of salt by half.
  • 1-2 cups Optional Add-ons - Try adding cooked black beans and corn for a fermented salsa salad variation!

Instructions
 

  • Prepare Your Vegetables
    Tomatoes: I don't remove tomato skins, but if you don't like skin on your tomatoes, you can dip them in boiling water for a few seconds and then pull the skin off easily.
    Core and chop your tomatoes to the desired size. Or, if you prefer really small pieces or a blended consistency, you can use a blender or food processor. Then place the chopped or blended tomatoes into a large bowl.
    Remove the seeds and chop the sweet peppers, and hot peppers. If you like more heat, keep the seeds of the hot peppers in the salsa.
    Peel and chop the onions and garlic.
    Remove the tough stems from your cilantro and chop the leaves.
    Add all the vegetables to the tomatoes in the bowl.
  • Add Salt
    As a rule, add 2 tablespoons of salt per half gallon of ingredients. However, if you like it saltier, you can add a little more, up to 4 tablespoons.
  • Add Lime Juice
    Add the juice of half a lime or one-half tablespoon bottled, and taste it. Since the strength of lime juice can vary, you can add more after tasting if you think it needs it. 
  • Mix Well And Pour Into Your Mason Jar
    Mix the ingredients well. You should notice the juices drawing from the vegetables.
    With the help of a wide-mouth funnel, if you have it, pour the salsa into your half gallon mason jar or into two quart jars. You should have plenty of juice to press the solids below the surface. However if you used dry, roma-type tomatoes and there is not a lot of juice, use a tamper to press the ingredients down gently. This should give you enough juice to cover the vegetables. Add a little filtered water if neccessary. Leave about at least an inch of headspace in your jar.
  • Top With A Fermentation Weight
    This will keep the vegetables submerged in the brine. They need to stay below the brine surface away from any oxygen, which could soften and possibly spoil them. Fermentation needs anaerobic conditions. 
  • Seal The Jar With A Fermentation Lid
    If you have a fermentation lid, use it. It will reduce chances of spoilage. But if you're observant, you can successfully ferment with a regular mason jar lid, screwed on just finger-tight or even a cloth, secured with a rubber band. 
  • Place Your Jar In A Darkish Corner To Ferment
    Keep your ferment out of direct sunlight and at a temperature of at least 65 degrees. I kept mine at about 75 during the day. Nighttime temps went below 60, which is a little cool for the critters, but when they warmed back up the next day, they got right back to work. Keep an eye on it, and if you use a tight fitting, sealing lid, burp it once a day after it starts to develop bubbles. 
    Your ferment will get a little cloudy. That's normal and a good thing. It may bubble over when it gets active, so it helps to place a catch container under the jar, such as a bowl, or plate, or a towel if your counter can get wet. 
  • Check For Done-ness
    After 2-3 days your ferment should have a nice tangy fermentation smell and should be very lively. If your room is on the cool side, it may take another day or two.
    Taste your ferment a day after it starts to bubble and has a strong fermentation smell. It will be a little fizzy as well. Salsa will get soft and mushy if you ferment it much longer than that, which is still fine to eat, but it won't have that fresh salsa texture anymore.
    I like to put it into the refrigerator or basement about 1-2 days after the bubbling starts. Once you place it into cold storage, the microbes slow way down and your fermentation will be stable enough for long-term keeping. Salsa should stay fresh for at least 3-4 months in cold storage. After that it will still be great to eat for a year or more, but may become more tart and possibly softer.