Fermentation modifies the sometimes bitter taste of spinach, making it more sour and salty instead. The lemon adds a fresh bright flavor.
15 minutes
35 minutes
2
INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE AT CULTURES FOR HEALTH
INGREDIENTS:
- Enough spinach to tightly fill a wide-mouth quart jar, rinsed lightly, stems removed
- 5 cloves garlic, minced fine
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 cup unfiltered water
- 1 Tbsp. whey or brine from a previous ferment (optional)
- ½ lemon with peel, thinly sliced
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut the spinach into strips, a bit wider than those you would cut for sauerkraut.
- In a large bowl or crock, layer salt with spinach and garlic, tossing them together with your hands.
- When it is all in the bowl, press the ingredients down a bit with a fist; cover the bowl lightly with a towel. Allow the bowl to sit for 15 to 30 minutes to let the juices begin to draw and blend.
- Take the towel off now and again to pound the spinach down with clean hands, a Cabbage Crusher or similar utensil.
- Begin packing handfuls of the salted spinach into a clean quart jar. Periodically add a slice of lemon, layering and pressing the lemons and the spinach into the jar.
- Once the jar is filled with the spinach mixture and the lemons, pour water in slowly, only adding enough to bring the liquid level up to 1 inch away from the mouth of the jar.
- Cover jar with a clean lid. Ferment at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, burping and pressing down the spinach daily.
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Transfer to cool storage.
