Fermenting Spices – ‘Old Bay’ Seasoning

I’m a big fan of fermented foods. You don’t have to look around this site very far to find something fermented, or a dish, container, or recipe for my latest favorite. Fermenting is an age-old way of preserving food, sometimes with salt, sometimes with a starter, and sometimes with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. We’ll go into that more later). Fermented foods are healthy. They pack a probiotic punch, a powerhouse of nutrients, and they just plain taste good.

I’m also a big fan of fermenting spices and herbs. Throw in the flavor, baby! Growing my own or finding new ones that wont grow in my climate zone, I love trying them all. Even wild herbs work for so many dishes. Its not about ‘heat’ for me. It’s the flavor, intensity, and depth of adding spices and herbs to foods my family loves. Layering flavors to add interest. That’s what its all about.

I’ve often used herbs to flavor ferments. The leftover brine is so delicious and has that intensity I love. So I decided to use it in other foods. Then it occurred to me, why not ferment the spices themselves for other foods? You know how sometimes you just hit on that epiphany? Well this was it for me.

If you are willing to give fermenting a try, then spices are an easy way to start. It just takes a few of your favorite ingredients to make something good and good for you. The hard part for me was to get used to not salting the food as I cooked. And adding seasoning near the end of cooking. These seasoning recipes are a bit salty, but that’s because the seasonings take the place of regular salt in your cooking and they can be tailored somewhat to suit your tastes. Just remember not to oversalt!

Play with these recipes. Change them up to suit you. Try new blends and ingredients. See what you think!

Fermented ‘Old Bay’ Seasoning

1 bunch celery, tops included
2 shredded carrots
2-3 inches of peeled ginger, chopped or diced
2-3 teaspoons tumeric or a couple ‘thumbs’ of fresh root
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 sprig rosemary
1 bulb garlic, diced, crushed or minced, more to taste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons fresh or dried parsley
2 teaspoons cumin
2 Tablespoons good Celtic or Himalayan salt, non-iodized

Wash and chop celery and place in a large mixing bowl. A smaller dice will ferment faster. Shred carrot. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat all the celery. Massage the vegetables vigorously. This will help express liquid. Let the mixture sit for about an hour, you should see quite a bit of liquid forming.

Pack the celery mixture into one or two quart jars, preferably wide mouth. You want to pack this pretty tightly so that the liquid will cover the vegetables. You want all the vegetables to be covered with liquid. Weight down the vegetables with either a snack size zipper bag filled with salted water or a weight used for fermenting. Close the jar with a pickling lid or plastic reusable canning lid.

Now comes the hard part. Let this mixture sit. Just sit. Check on it periodically, maybe twice a week, to make sure you don’t see mold on top and the vegetables are under liquid. If you need more liquid, you can add a little heavily salted water (1/2 teaspoon to 1 cup water).

After a few days, give it a taste. You can certainly adjust your flavors as you like. It should be strong but pleasant. Remember this is seasoning and will be dehydrated so it will pack a punch. Let it ferment for three weeks to a month. Be sure to watch the liquid level and add more salted water if you need to.

Dehydrate on the lowest setting in your dehydrator. If you dehydrate in the oven, a little more than a pilot light is what you are looking for. Heat kills probiotics, which is the ‘good stuff’. This may take anywhere from 18 to 24 hours, depending on temperature, humidity, and climate in your house/area.

After the mixture has completely dried, powder in an herb grinder or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight jar with a little satchel of rice to absorb moisture.