Tuesday was our summer food swap here in Philly. We were lucky enough to have it at the Wyck, an amazing, historic farm in the heart of the Germantown section of Philadelphia. It’s a truly wonderful place, where education is a big part of the mission, and the chickens are mighty pretty. As one of the swap organizers, I am so grateful that we were invited back again for another swap there.
There are, of course, risks to an outside swap, but with 0% chance of rain predicted for our swap date, I was pretty sure we’d be in the clear. Oops! No. Turns out it rained, but it was just a drizzle and though there might have been some literal dampening of spirits of the booze variety, our figurative spirits remained in excellent condition.
I really love the food swaps. When our little band of planners, Alexis, Georgia, Marisa and I, started working on this more than two years ago, my impetus was to find local makers to make a more cohesive Philly food community. Two years later, that is a thing. I know so many people I would never have met otherwise and I’ve learned so much about the culinary talents and interests that lie behind those rowhome facades. Ferments are definitely becoming a more popular swap item, too! I spied preserved lemons, kraut and more!
I brought a hodgepodge of ferments to swap this time, including a version of the mustard I posted about on Monday, a hibiscus lime vinegar I am especially fond of, a multilayered kraut and some fermented snap peas. This was actually my first go at making snap peas, I think. I’m guessing the reason for that is that I never have enough left after snacking to fill even the tiniest jar or bowl. The are my snacking crack, and I could eat them all day when they’re fresh. In any case, they turned out so good, I think I’ll have to double my supply in the future. The crispiness is preserved, but they just get infused with whatever you throw in the jar. In this case, I went straight up dill pickle. A couple large fronds of dill and a few garlic cloves and I was in heaven. I already have another batch brewing.
DILLY SNAPS
Yields 1 quart snap pea pickles
If you’re new to lactopickling, please check out my Pickle FAQ before you get started!
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb snap peas, end removed
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 cups of brine (I like 1 T of salt dissolved in 2 cups of water), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)
How-to
- Place your snap peas and garlic in your jar. Put the pepper flakes in the bottom, if you want it hot.
- Pour brine over veggies until just covered.
- Use cheapo jar method to submerge and cover your veggies
- Store at room temperature for 1-2 weeks on top of a plate to catch any overflow. Longer will give you more acidic pickles, shorter will give you less acidic pickles. (Cloudy brine is normal and a good thing!)
- Once they are acidic enough for you, push your fresh dill fronds into the brine, seal the jar and stick it in the fridge. For more options on when and how to use your herbs, read the part about herbs in this post before you start.
- After 2 days, remove the fronds (or leave them in, as is your wont) and get eating!
Adam D. Zolkover says
Hey – is there a food swap mailing list? I want to come to the next one.
Amanda says
@Adam, indeed! Email PhillySwappers@gmail.com to be added to the list. Be aware that the tickets for this free event go very quickly once they are posted!
@Julie, yes, you got some iteration of those guys. No hot peppers in yours, though. Or did you take the spicy ones? I’m making your Indian dinner tonight! Can’t wait!
Julie says
Ooh la la – are these what I brought home? They’re hanging out in the fridge. I’m excited to crack them open!
Julie says
Yup! I got the spicy ones. Haven’t cracked into them yet though – started with the sauerkraut. I hope the Indian food came out well!
Amanda says
IT WAS SO GOOOOOOOOOOOD! We ate it all weekend. It actually reminded me of the bright rice I used to make, but it’s been so long I forgot how (also, I think your recipe was better). Fantastic idea! Glad you were getting so much love from all the swappers!
Laura says
So I let these ferment for a week and a day. Somehow a bug got in and there was some mold floating on top. I cleaned that out. About half of the beans have white stuff growing on them, on the sides and where I cut the ends or cut a bruise off. Is that mold? What gives? I ate one without white stuff on it and it was tasty. Should I chuck it all? Eat it?
Amanda says
Hi Laura,
Unfortunately I can’t give you any advice there. I can’t say what’s in your ferment without seeing it in person and I also don’t know what your tolerance for these things is. It could be kahm. It could be mold. Even if it’s mold, it might be fine to eat.
I would personally ditch anything that had a bug in it, especially a fly, because they lay eggs when they land (I have no tolerance for the possible outcome of that), and they carry other stray kinds of bacteria. But in the end, the discretion has to be yours.
On a happier note, I KNOW, right? Fermented snap peas are ridiculously delicious!
Make sure the container in which the unwelcome stuff was growing is thoroughly sanitized. When I’ve had mold or even unwanted yeast overgrowth, I’ve poured boiling water into it until full and then put it on the most sanitizing setting in my dishwasher when I washed it. It’s just a precautionary measure, but getting a couple batches of extra yeastiness in a row can be a buzzkill!
Laura says
I never even thought of the bug doing bad things!! Ick!! It was a fruit fly, not a gross house fly. No idea how it even got in there!
We don’t have a dishwasher, but I’ll take more care sanitizing next time. Thanks!!!
Amanda says
Hey Laura,
Just to be clear, I didn’t think that your jar wasn’t clean enough. Hard core sanitizing is just my precaution for post-excess yeast or mold, so that one anomaly doesn’t spread to future batches.
And to clarify again (sorry!) fruit flies carry the acetobacter, which is responsible for making vinegar. It probably isn’t a big risk in a ferment that has been going for a while, but if it got in there at the beginning, it could potentially, maybe, possibly do a bit of acetic fermentation. It’s not likely, given the low sugar and high salt content in pickles, but it’s something to be aware of.
Laura says
Thanks. I need a fermenting support group. I googled kahn, don’t think it’s that. I read that some high sugar content veg (like snap peas) could release a white looking foam. The white stuff is literally on the individual peas, but only some. I had a piece of Birdseye cotton secured with a rubber band on top so I do t know how that bugger got in!! I do know it was sometime in between day 2 and day 8 because I put it in the cabinet and forgot about it. Oops. Probably chuck it, makes me sad, I think snap pea season is over in San Diego.
George says
Love your site! I noticed you add your dill fronds after the snaps have fermented. Why do you prefer this method?
Amanda says
Hi George,
Thank you! I wrote about herb inclusion in this post and why I do it the way I do in this post. There are definitely options, though! It’s just what works best for me!
Amanda
Jenny Bell says
Tried our hand at fermentation for the first time, and got to open our first experiment yesterday, which were your dilly snaps recipe. O.M.G.! These are amazing. Everyone loved them, even my husband’s 74 year old grandmother, spiciness and all! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Amanda says
Hi Jenny,
I’m SO happy to hear that!! Congrats on getting started and thank you for giving me a happiness boost for the day!
Carol Ann says
Could I use snow peas instead of snap peas? My snap peas didn’t do well this year but I’m hopeful my second planting of snow peas will.
I’ve been making sauerkraut for some time now, a few varieties and want to expand to other veggies.
Really enjoy your posts, you’ve given me so many ideas! Thank you!
Amanda says
Sure! You may want to reduce the fermentation time or check in on the snow peas a bit more frequently. The thinner, less crispy texture will affect the final crispiness, and may break down more quickly.
Let me know how they turn out!
Becky says
I was just wondering if I have to worry about the potential of developing mold if some of the chili flakes have floated to the top of the brine? About half of them did and I know everything is supposed to be submerged… Thanks! We can’t wait to try them!
Amanda says
Hi Becky,
So technically yes, but I would just recommend pushing them under the surface again with a spoon, even if they only go under for a minute. That will just keep surface mold from forming. If you used an airlock or a bail top jar. Do this once a day or as close to that as you can. You could also stick a plastic bag with some brine in it on the surface, that will create a barrier, if you don’t mind plastic on your ferments.
You could also skim off the flakes that have risen to the top. It’s not a huge risk, depending how much longer it needs to ferment, but it is a risk and it’s worth preventing mold if you can, in my book.
Becky says
Thanks, I will just keep pushing them back down. They are in a mason jar II need more bail top jars!!!) and I just started it yesterday. I don’t want to lose the heat, we love spicy! So much to learn (I am a newbie)!
Kirsten says
Amanda,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks eating from the farm share.
I appreciate it!
Amanda says
Thanks for including me, Kirsten!
Caden O'Brien says
Does this recipe call for table salt,kosher salt, what? Please be specific, it makes a lot of difference! Love your site so far.
Nick says
Hi there! Just made your raw-tatouille recipe from your book, and had a question about the ph and safety. It’s been about 5 days since I started them, and I have started getting what I think is Kahm yeast. Everything is well submerged in a crock with my weights, and did a ph test and got about 5.5. Will the acidity increase over the next few days to where it’s safe around 4?
Amanda says
Hi Nick,
The pH should definitely be lower than 5.5 at this point, so I’m not sure what’s going on in there. Did you leave the skins on the eggplant or include the skins?
Carol Ann says
Been a while but just wanted you to know how well my snow peas turned out, they were delicious and didn’t last long. Made 2 litres my entire crop this summer, Made with snow peas 25/08/16 used a few garlic cloves, 1 spring onion and chilli peppers. Packed jar tightly, used 2 raspberry and 1/2 horseradish leaf on top, held down by brine filled sandwich bag. Fermented them for 2 weeks and they were crisp and sooo tasty! Not really keen on using plastic but it worked well.
Just about to start my first batch of snap peas and while looking at my notes realized I hadn’t let you know how great the snow peas turned out, if they turn out half as good as the snow peas did they will be a hit!
florin says
How mutch protein fermented peas have ? Dry peas have like 20% but after fermentation how mutch protein procentage encrease ?
Amanda says
Hi Florin,
I’m sorry but I have no idea. I’m really not a nutritional stats person. To my knowledge, fermentation does not increase the protein in a vegetable.
Good luck!
Amanda
Maureen says
Hi I love your site, I was initially drawn to your dillysnaps, would this recipe work as well with Snow Peas, I have a glut of these and although we like to eat them fresh off the vine it would be good to be able to preserve some.
Would love to hear from you.
Love your Phickle web site.
Thanks Maureen
Amanda says
Hi Maureen,
Thanks so much for the kind words! I LOVE fermented snow peas! Yes, definitely give it a shot. You might want to up the salt, just a touch to help deal with the extra sweetness of snow peas.
Edith Ross says
Hello Amanda,
Stumbled across your site and I love it. I tried the snap peas with your poor man’s weight on top. Some mild formed between my mason jar and the other jar I used to weigh it down with. Everything was still submerged. Should I be garbaging my fermented peas? I washed around the jar etc. But don’t know if this will be dangerous to consume.
Thanks and keep up the great site.
Edith
Amanda says
Hi Edith,
Thank you! Two things you can do: test the pH of the brine. If it’s below 4.0, you’re good. You can test that with cheap strips purchased online or at a home-brew store. You just want to make sure that the readings on the strips go below 4.0 and above 4.6 at a minimum so that you can see what you need to see.
If the mold is colorful (not white or beige), some caution is needed. Red/orange/pink molds, I toss. Slimy brine, I toss.
If the mold is flat and beige or white, it’s not mold at all, but a collection of harmless yeast from the air. Just skim it and place your jar in the fridge as soon as is reasonable (once it has set up camp, it tends to come back). Some people mix it in, but it can impart a taste I really don’t like, so I’ve always skimmed it when this has happened.
Best of luck! Hoping all your future batches are Kahm- and mold-free!