HOW SHOULD FERMENTIERRA'S LACTO-FERMENTED JARS BE STORED BEFORE OPENING?
Lacto-fermentation is a preservation method that allows food to be kept for several months, even years, even at room temperature. Nevertheless, we recommend to keep them in the refrigerator. There, the fermentation process will slow down and your jars will stay as you received them. It is also possible to store them at a cellar temperature around 15 degrees. With our experience, we have observed that the majority of our jars do not move until 20 degrees. Beyond that, the vegetables may start to ferment again, which could cause them to leak and fizz when the jar is opened.
HOW TO STORE FERMENTIERRA'S LACTO-FERMENTED JARS ONCE OPENED? lacto-fermentés de Fermentierra une fois ouverts?
Once opened, it is recommended to store in the refrigerator and eat them within two weeks. However, we have found that most opened jars can keep their qualities much longer than that. By using clean utensils, you maximize the chances that the jars will keep very well.
At home, we often keep them out of the fridge, when it's a jar we're going to finish in 5 days. By serving ourselves regularly in a jar, we make sure that the surface layer of vegetables is always renewed. Indeed, it is through contact with oxygen and its invisible world that the vegetables begin to oxidize and become fragile to contamination.
DO YOU RECYCLE THE JARS?
We do not reuse the jars at this time. You can recycle glass and lids through the official network.
THE JAR SPARKLES LIKE CHAMPAGNE WHEN I OPEN IT...…
When we put our vegetables into jars, the fermentation process is still going on, albeit slowly. For some batches, it is a little more active than others and since the lid is airtight, the carbon dioxide from the fermentation process is pressurized inside the jar. When you open it, it's like a beer, you can see the bubbles rising to the surface and hear that lovely fizz. Nothing wrong with that, cheers! But if your jar doesn't fizz, don't be disappointed, that's okay too.
MY JAR LID IS BLOATED, OR MY JAR LEAKS...…
Although the strongest fermentation occurs in the vat during the first two weeks, the process can continue for several months. It is likely that with a higher temperature than in our workshop, 18.5, the vegetables continue to mature a little. So there is a production of carbon dioxide that manifests itself in this way. Don't worry about it. You can burp the jar by pushing on the rim of the lid with your thumbs and put it in the refrigerator to avoid this to continue.
A white veil appeared on the surface of my vegetables or their juice...
It can happen, very rarely when the jar has never been opened, that Kahm yeast appears as a bio-film. You may have already noticed it on jars of olives or pickles. It is harmless and is a corollary of lactic fermentation. As long as the smell is appetizing, no worries. With lacto-fermented vegetables, only a frankly nauseating smell or yellow, blue or green molds are indicators that the can is no longer consumable (but this has never happened to us). However, if this Kahm yeast develops too much, on a forgotten jar for example, its taste and smell may take over the initial taste. It's a bit like the old vacherin Mont-d'or, some people don't like it and some lose their gums!
HOW DO WE INCORPORATE LACTO-FERMENTED VEGETABLES IN OUR COOKING?
Follow this link to a page we wrote to address this question: Eating Lacto-fermented Vegetables is easy
ADVICE:
- We invite you to keep your jars cool. Although not essential, the cold will slow down the fermentation process and guarantee a worry-free storage. (This is until you have become an expert in understanding the fermentation process)
- Always use clean utensils if you don't finish the jar at once.
- Always smell your jar. You will quickly become familiar with the good smell of lacto-fermented vegetables. If one day you smell something really unbearable, throw it out!
- Use the juice! It is very good as a base for salad dressing for example.