Recipe

Fruit Kimchee

Accompanying newsletter: Spring Cleaning

Far more delicious and novel than cabbage kimchee, this tangy fruit cocktail is a frequent treat in my home. The following combination is especially winsome but last apple season, I also made it simply from apples and spices.

Like all unpasteurized fermented foods, it supports digestion and enhances the immune system. I've adapted this recipe from Sandor Ellix Katz's excellent cookbook, Wild Fermentation.

Makes approximately 1 quart

2 cups pears and/or apples, cut into small chunks
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup grapes, pitted cherries, blueberries and/or pomegranate seeds
½ cup whole cashews (raw or roasted)
¼ cup chopped purple onion or scallion
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons julienned ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dried goji berries (optional)
1 teaspoon unrefined salt
1-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 small red chilies, dried

Toss all the ingredients together. Pack tightly into a wide-mouthed jar. Add a weight that rests directly upon, and applies pressure to, the fruit itself. Place this weighted jar in a shallow bowl to collect the brine that will soon form and overflow from the jar.

Leave out at room temperature for 2-3 days or until the fruits slightly soften, develop a mildly fermented flavor and bubbles percolate up through the brine that will have formed. Plan to use within 5 days or before it develops an over-fermented, unpleasant "off" taste. Remove the weight, wash the jar, cover and refrigerate until use. Serve with or without the brine.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood