Fermented whole fruit

[baerdric]

I was reading about salted citrus fermentation and then saw some organic key limes at the store. I decided to try fermenting them but at the same time I found some really pretty blackberries.

As T2 Diabetic, I try to limit my sugars, so I just decided to ferment the blackberries to see what happened. You can't see them in this photo very well, they are the black shadow behind the limes. All I did was add a teaspoon of my water kefir sugars (a constantly changing blend of raw organic sugar products) and a splash from my water kefir and my sauerkraut jar. Hopefully I will remember to update this when I have some results.

But looking over the board, I don't see a place for fruit fermentation. I see that it's kind of mixed in with Tonics and/or Alcohol. I'm hoping that I end up with neither.
https://i.imgur.com/HIVsGzw.jpg

[Christopher Weeks]

Neat, keep us posted.

[baerdric]

They are bubbling and the water is turning blue, so I'm hopeful. I do smell a little yeasty smell, so all is not perfect...

[Alezaj]

Hi, I'm new. This is the first thread on fruit I've seen that isn't alcohol related. I am just starting out with vegetable ferments and decided to try sliced apples in a brine with a cabbage leaf holding them down. It's fermenting but idk if I should let it go for weeks or stop it in the first week. I don't want it to start producing alcohol because I made it for my kids to try. Will burping it regularly keep it from producing alcohol?

[baerdric]

Hi, I'm glad you commented because it reminded me to follow up here.

I started to smell alcohol on the third day.

I refrigerated them and while they tasted wonderful, yes, they probably had a measurable amount of alcohol in them. They tasted a little like champagne. Not enough to be an alcohol problem, but certainly I wouldn't go more than three days.

Oh, I did test them for sugar content using "Diastix" and if I read the instructions correctly, the sugar level decreased to 1/8th the original level. That might give us a mark to start experimentation with.

[baerdric]

I don't think my blueberries (started yesterday) are going to ferment well.

I probably should have smashed them first, but I wanted the whole fruit if I could get it so I tried it out. It is bubbling, but probably from the 1/8th cup of sugar I added to the small Ball Jar. The water is not changing color so I think the insides are not fermenting.

I'll give it another day or so before trying to mash them mid-ferment.

[baerdric]

Well, they look better today, and the liquid is starting to smell like blueberries.

[baerdric]

So the blueberries turned out really nice. But I absolutely need to start making better records. I think I will video every batch, since I have a mount for my phone. I don't seem to do well with making notes.

They are in the fridge and I had about a dozen of them with breakfast. Blueberry tasting, with a little tart fizz. But I did wash the liquid out, because I had used salt and that didn't taste good.

See, if I had made notes, we would all know how much salt I used. I think it must be a teaspoon, because that's how much I would use if I wanted to do it again. So assume a teaspoon of mixed sugars and a teaspoon of mixed sea salts in about half of a small wide mouthed ball jar. Here's a photo https://i.imgur.com/Rts2pJE.jpg

[baerdric]

I made a new batch of blueberries since the last one worked out so well.

I did a whole quart and they fermented readily. This morning they started tasting like wine, and had stopped their effervescent bubbling, so I put them in the fridge. I use them by eating a teaspoon (about 8) after meals, so this should last a while!

Of course, I forgot to make notes again. But I know it was a quart of lightly washed "organic" blueberries, one tablespoon of mixed sugars, one tablespoon of sauerkraut backslop, one tablespoon of lime juice, then fill with water. It took almost exactly three days, in that I started them after coffee tuesday morning, and put them in the fridge after coffee this morning (friday).

I need to make some new kraut and some pickled peppers this morning.