FERMENTED FRUIT STARTER RECIPES

Steps:

• TO START: Combine all ingredients in a clean, large glass jar.
• Stir gently with wooden spoon.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature for three weeks, stirring at least twice a week.
• Fruit is fermented when it is translucent.
• CARE AND FEEDING: Stir mixture daily.
• Every two weeks add one cup sugar and one cup of fruit and stir gently. Alternate fruits each time.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature at least three days before using.
• Do not add fruit more often than once every two weeks.
• Do not delay adding fruit for more than one or two days past schedule.
• IMPORTANT: To keep the starter going, retain at least three cups at all times.
• SHARING: Whenever you have more than six cups of fermented fruit, you may divide it into two portions, being sure there are at least three cups in each portion.
• Do this just before you would do a normal feeding.
• Feed each portion.
• Give one portion to a friend (with Care and Feeding directions) and keep one for yourself.
• Search on "friendship fruit" to find recipes that use this.
• There is also a Friendship Sourdough Starter (Recipe #647936) - yum!

Steps:

• Make a brine by dissolving 5 tablespoons sea salt in 2 quarts of chlorine-free water. (Note: this recipe will possibly make more than what is needed, you may save extra brine to be used in future ferments.)
• In a half-gallon jar add a couple of the tannin-containing leaves, a few cloves of garlic, the heads of dill, and ⅓ of the spices.
• Pack half of the cucumbers tightly on top of the spices. (The longest ones work best at the bottom.)
• Repeat a layer of leaves, garlic, and spices. Add another tightly packed layer of cucumbers and top them off with more garlic and spices.
• Pour the brine over the pickles, leaving 1-2 inches of headspace. Place another tannin-containing leaf on top of the pickles as a cover between the pickles and the surface of the brine. Use a fermentation weight to keep the pickles under the liquid, if necessary. Cover the jar with a tight lid, airlock lid, or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
• Ferment at room temperature (60-70°F is preferred) until desired flavor and texture are achieved. If using a tight lid, burp daily to release excess pressure. The brine should turn cloudy and bubbly, and the pickles should taste sour when done.
• Eat right away, or store in a refrigerator or root cellar for months and enjoy them all winter long.