Main image alt text: picture of processed fermented blueberries in random dishes and pans.
I was going to use the blueberries. They tasted interesting. I started them on 2/23 and today is 3/23. After processing I tried to strain them. The resulting material has no flavor, but the juice is unique and savory. However, it does not taste like blueberries it has a unique and interesting flavor.
Pico de Gallo, was exactly the opposite. It also has a weird unique savory but more spicy flavor. After straining it, the juice has no flavor, but the solid materials are much stronger and interesting.
Further experimentation is required. I am posting to tap into the experience pool here to gain any insight possible.
Just stuff on hand for experimentation with lactose fermentation. It would have gone bad otherwise. The lid of the greenish brown jar says the start date, added a bit of honey for extra insurance (“H”). I also tasted and intuitively thought I’d try running it through a food processor, added more honey and let it go. It went through a gamut of evolving smells. It ended in a mild green salsa like flavor. It had a LOT of CO2 production throughout, far more than anything else I’m messing with. There is a lot more alcohol in it, but I have no idea how much is really there.
The blueberries worried me around a week ago. They tasted like olives, but now they have a more pleasant flavor, or rather, the juice does now. It is about like a more berry/savory almost beet juice like wine flavor, but more savory than a wine. It is savory like a soy or fish/Worcestershire sauce, but less concentrated than those.
These are 3% salt brine fermentations to insure the right kind of bacterial growth. Fermenting stuff and experimenting with unique flavors that this creates is how you take cooking to the highest levels, but also a serious survival skill. It only takes around 3 weeks from food scarcity to population reduction.
Thanks for the info! Experimentation in the kitchen is fun! I haven’t attempted any fermentation yet. I usually take fresh pico de gallo that’s not so fresh and cook it down with some tomato paste, blitz it, and use it as a dip or pizza sauce. To prolong its life I freeze it in an ice cube tray which I then transfer to ziplock freezer bags.