RECIPE: Fermented Cranberries

As an ancestral cook I have a deep reverence for the place fermented foods holds across many of our lineages.  The fermented foods that are apart of my Afro-Caribbean ancestry have ingredients that are often hard to find in the places I live in now.    

This doesn't prevent me from having a relationship with the fermentation practices I was taught as a child; it inspires me.  I use the practices and the ingredients I can access locally that are of my lineage and those that are local that are not.  When I am able to sustainably source the rarer ingredients from my lineage, I make small batches of ferments that I cherish and store small amounts of the raw ingredients in my home apothecary.

Blending those ancestral practices with the present day places and spaces I live in now is something I truly enjoy because in someway I feel like its a representation of me and many like me who are "in between".  Being a child of displaced peoples due to colonization; born in a land that is supposed to be "my country, my land" but from young, I knew clearly in my bones, was not.

Severing my/our connection from our ancestral lands and the sources and resources that nourished the bodies of those that came before me for generations was felt within me without the words to express it.  My people are peoples of the tropics; the foods and smells and spices and places that connect me to that story, that truth, that self knowing are not of this land. Some of the foods from my ancestral lands can be obtained in the markets I have access to in Vermont, but many are not.  Access to variety increases when one goes to big cities like NYC or uses the internet but, this also serves as a reminder that a part of my being craves for nourishment and connection to a home that is far, far away from my home now.    

Through the alchemy of food I find ways to make sense of my own narrative of being in between a new home and old home and transform it into a narrative of being a bridge, a portal of healing for  both myself and my ancestral narratives.

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Its November here in Vermont and there are some awesome foods that are in season right now like an astounding variety of gourds, squashes and pumpkins.  We still have some beautiful dark leafy greens like an assorted variety of kale and overwintered greens like spinach.  We also still have some glorious root veggies being harvested as well.  

But Ive been waiting for one of my favorite seasonal foods to make their ways into the markets: cranberries!

I LOVE whole cranberries!
And, as Ive shared, I LOVE fermented foods!
And one of my favorite things to make is fermented cranberries.  It's super simple in its basic recipe which allows me to preserve and store cranberries to make in various ways; cranberry chutney, cranberry sauce, cranberry jam, cranberry salsa and more!  

Basic Fermented Cranberries Recipe

Ingredients: 
fresh whole cranberries
water
celtic grey salt OR sea salt
ferment starter

Equipment:
ball jar with clean rubber sealed lid
ferment weight (make sure its the right size for your jar)

Directions:

• Begin with clean jar and lid (do not use antibacterial soap)
• Fill jar to the ridge line with cranberries
• Add salt (4 oz jar - 1/4 tsp) (8 oz jar - 1/2 tsp) (16 oz jar - 1 tsp) (32 oz jar - 1.5 tsp) (64 oz jar - 1 tbsp)
• Add a splash or two of starter (A note on starter: You can use a previous ferments liquid as a starter. You can use some liquid from a jar of fermented pickles or kraut that you purchased in a store. Not all krauts in the markets are fermented. Typically fermented jars of foods are refrigerated in markets while the pickled jars are on the shelves in the center of the markets not refrigerated.  I always recommend Bubbies.  You can also procure starts from Cultures for Health.
• Fill with water
• Top with a ferment weight (make sure its the right size for your jar).  Cranberries are super buoyant so without the weight they will not stay submerged and can contaminate your ferment.  
• Seal the jar with the lid and set aside

Fermentation process:

• depending on the strength of your ferment starter and the amount of salt you used the ferment should take around 5 days to complete.  
• during that 5 day period you will need to check on your jar(s).  You may hear hissing which means they need to be burped.  You may also need to clean them a bit because sometimes as pressure building some liquids leak/drip out. 
• how to burp jars: slightly unseal/unscrew the lid (not completely off!) just enough to allow some of the pressure out. After some pressure is released rescrew/reseal the lid tightly.  Do this everyday during the 5 days even if they do not hiss.  
• on the 5th day, burp the jar, reseal, label and store in a cool space in your home until ready to be consumed.  Examples are a root cellar, basement, or even in the back of your  fridge.  
• once opened a jar of ferments can last a long time with or without refrigeration.  Keep the contents submerged in its fermentation brine and all should be well.  Always making sure to properly reseal the jars.  If you do keep the jars out of refrigeration but in a cooler place in your home  you will likely need to check on them and occasionally burp if you notice any bulging or hear any hissing.   
• on refrigeration: You are welcome to keep the jars, once fermented in the fridge if its opened or not.  Just note that refrigeration slows down the fermentation process and makes your bacteria "sleepy".  
• Enjoy and remember you can take these fermented cranberries and make them into any number of yummy cranberry recipes.  You can also enjoy as is as well! This is simply a way to preserve the cranberries and its nutrients in a live and vibrant form until ready for use in your own time.  

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Spiced Fermented Sorrell Cranberries Recipe
​Much of this recipe will mimic the recipe above but with lots of fun additional ingredients inspired by my Afro-Caribbean ancestry.  Here goes!

Ingredients: 
fresh whole cranberries
sorrel infused water
celtic grey salt OR sea salt
cinnamon stick
clove
thyme
ginger
star anise
lime skin
ferment starter

Equipment:
ball jar with clean rubber sealed lid
ferment weight (make sure its the right size for your jar)

Salt measurements based on size jar:

• Add salt (4 oz jar - 1/4 tsp)
• (8 oz jar - 1/2 tsp)
• (16 oz jar - 1 tsp)
• (32 oz jar - 1.5 tsp)
• (64 oz jar - 1 tbsp)

Directions:

• Begin with clean jar and lid (do not use antibacterial soap)
• In a separate bowl take a jars worth of whole cranberries into the bowl. 
• Add the following into the bowl of cranberries: freshly grated/chopped ginger root, fresh thyme de-stemmed, whole cloves, and celtic grey or sea salt. Mix together gently with a wooden spoon or hands to distribute. Set aside.
•  Assemble the following: cinnamon stick and star anise.
• Place the cinnamon stick into the jar and begin to add the cranberry blend to the jar.  Release the cinnamon stick when it is well supported by the cranberry blend. 
• Fill jar to the ridge line with cranberry blend, insert a lime skin and top with a star anise. 
• Add a splash or two of starter (A note on starter: You can use a previous ferments liquid as a starter. You can use some liquid from a jar of fermented pickles or kraut that you purchased in a store. Not all krauts in the markets are fermented. Typically fermented jars of foods are refrigerated in markets while the pickled jars are on the shelves in the center of the markets not refrigerated.  I always recommend Bubbies.  You can also procure starts from Cultures for Health.
• Fill with sorrel infused water (sorrel tea)
• Top with a ferment weight (make sure its the right size for your jar).  Cranberries are super buoyant so without the weight they will not stay submerged and can contaminate your ferment.  
• Seal the jar with the lid and set aside

From this point follow the same steps outlined in Fermentation Process above.  

Once completed you could enjoy as is or use this blend to make a chutney with more Afro-Caribbean ingredients like:  tamarind, mango, peaches, molasses, prunes and more.

Remember to listen to and offer gratitude to the foods and nourishing bacteria in your ferments, have fun exploring and enjoy the journey!

With love, 
Candace
@conscioushomestead
​@consciouskitchenvt