Lacto-Fermented Jalapeño Peppers

Lacto-Fermented Jalapeño Peppers

Skip the jarred jalapeño slices and make a healthy batch full of beneficial bacteria and vitamins in no time.

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Nachos. Tacos. Enchiladas. Sandwiches. These fiery jalapeño slices are great on just about any dish. My husband, shamelessly, adds the brine to soups for some extra heat. In addition to that kick, these peppers also provide naturally occurring probiotics that come with lacto-fermentation.

Fermenting jalapeños?

Lacto-fermentation is the process of preserving food, mainly vegetables with generous amount of unrefined salt. Harmful bacteria cannot tolerate much salt. The process of lacto-fermentation destroys the bad bacteria in the first phase and produces good bacteria, Lactobacillus in the second phase. The good bacteria then consumes the carbohydrates naturally found in the vegetables and transforms it to lactic acid which preserves the food as vinegar would. Personally, I prefer lacto-fermentation to any other type of food preservation method because of it’s rich content of the friendly bacteria.

Fermenting jalapeños is truly as easy as fermenting any other vegetable. The key is to always have enough salt to destroy the bad bacteria and create a brine. You’ll notice the water will begin to change from translucent to cloudy.

Fermenting jalapeños on just about anything

These peppers are a staple in our fridge. My favorite way to eat them is on tacos, nachos, and salads. I usually buy a large batch of peppers towards the end of their growing season and preserve enough to last us through the next year. This recipe, keeps them firm, yet tangy and spicy the entire time.

And the best part? It has only two ingredients, not including water. Two. Jalapenos and some healthy salt of your choice. When fermenting or culturing vegetables including these peppers, I like to alternate between my favorite salts: Celtic Salt, Himalayan Salt and Real Salt as they all contain different mineral content.

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