Lactofermented Fiddlehead Fern Pickles

Step 1

Clean the fiddleheads and trim the stems. If needed, rinse them to remove any remainder of brown husk. If you have long stems, and want to add them, cut them into lengths about the same size as the croziers (fiddleheads).

Step 2

Blanch the fiddleheads and garlic (garlic will discolor eventually and turn blue, but this is purely aesthectic) and stems if using for exactly one minute at a rapid boil, then remove and spread out on a cookie sheet, allowing to cool naturally.

Step 3

Toast the peppercorns and mustard seed.

Step 4

Tare your scale to zero, weighing in grams. Put the jar on the scale. Pack the garlic and fiddleheads into the quart jar, along with the seeds, dill and lemon, then add water until It completely covers the fiddleheads. Take the total weight of the ingredients, multiply it by .03, then add that many grams of salt. Put the lid on the jar and shake well to help the salt distribute, and continue until most of it is dissolved.

Step 5

If you don’t want to weigh your salt, just add 1.5 tablespoons. Learning to weigh things to ferment them at a specific percentage of salt is a useful, easy to learn skill though, just sayin.

Step 6

Put the grape leaves in the top of the jar, then put a small rock on top to hold everything in place. If you filled it full and water sloshes out, it’s ok.

Step 7

Allow the mixture to ferment at room temperature for a few days (with the jar placed in a larger container to catch any migrating liquid) or until you notice visible fermentation. When you like the flavor, refrigerate them if you want.