Fermented Pattypan Squash with Apples
Fermenting predates vinegar pickling by centuries: here the vegetables and fruit are preserved by natural lactic fermentation rather than acid from a bottle. In this recipe pattypan squash ferment alongside apples – much the way apples were once soured in wooden tubs – with the squash acting like a crisp sponge that drinks up the brine.
A spoonful of rye flour and a little sugar (or honey) kick-start fermentation, while black currant leaves and schisandra vine lend aroma and act as natural preservatives that hold mold in check. The weight on top isn’t decorative: the vegetables must stay submerged, since anything above the brine spoils fast.
An oak tub is the traditional vessel, but a large glass jar or an enameled bucket works just as well. What matters is keeping it cool – a cellar, the refrigerator, or an unheated porch. In a warm room the ferment runs wild and everything over-sours.
- Skim the foam off the surface every few days for the first couple of weeks.
- The finished squash come out pleasantly sweet-and-sour and refreshing, at home on both a weeknight table and a holiday spread.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Wash the small pattypan squash and the apples, pack them into a barrel or glass container, and add the black currant leaves and magnolia vine.
Pour the brine over the vegetables all the way to the top.
Make the brine like this: for 1 liter of water, use 15 g salt, 30 g sugar, and, if available, 10 g rye flour; the sugar can be replaced with honey.
Set a weight on top and move it to a cool place.
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