Fermented Limes

 Fermented limes are divine! 

Fermented limes allow you to have that tangy sour wonderful taste WHENEVER you want it without having to run to the grocery store.  Plus as an added bonus, they taste BETTER!!!  And you get healthy gut probiotics!

Here is the best sales pitch I could find!

in 1869 a Boston physician wrote that pickled limes were among the “unnatural and abominable” substances consumed by children with nutritional deficiencies.”

Here's where I started.  I had a bag of limes and wanted to make sure I didn't waste any....

Then....  we chop the top/bottom nubs off, slice into fours, place in a mason jar and add non-iodized salt (I used Kosher today).  Be VERY liberal with the salt!!!

Traditionally you leave the lime connected at the bottom so the four slices are still connected like the picture below.  

Then pound them in.  The limes need to be covered with the acidic lime juice.  It will take some muscle power!  I recently invested in a fermenting pounder, but a spoon or anything that can crush them will work.  

Keep filling your jar alternating limes and salt!

Then keep pounding them down....  

Once you are done you need to weight down the limes so they are under the lime juice/salt mixture.

I use either fermentation weights or ziplocks filled with salt water.  Here is how I do the ziplock weights:

Fill a ziplock with a little bit of water and about a teaspoon of non-iodized salt.  Fill it to about the amount of head space you have in your jar... 

Then place the baggie into the top of the jar, making sure all the limes are submerged into the juice.  Air is not our friend!!!

I had to let some salt water out.  Here;s the ziplock keeping my limes safe!

And all set to sit out at room temperature for a week to a year and let the magic happen!!!!  The lime pith becomes less bitter.  The peels are the delicacy and the salty limey brine goodness makes amazing marinades!    If there is any non-white mold growing on the top, throw out the batch.  

Enjoy!!!!