- When selecting flower buds for fermentation; pick buds that are still tightly closed, not flowers that have simply closed for the night, will have bits of petals sticking out. Use these as you would capers.
Fermented Wild Flower Buds
2 cups of buds / pods
1–2 heads garlic, broken apart and peeled
A couple of shallots (including the green)
1 piece fresh ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons goji berries
1 cup Brine (1/2 tablespoon fine Himalayan salt to 1 cup of best quality water or white Bok Choy juice)
After picking the pods, give a good clean.
Separate the pods from each other, removing all the debris, and rinse.
Combine buds, garlic, shallots, ginger, and goji berries in a bowl.
Transfer to one liter Fido and pour in the brine to cover the mixture completely. The buds will want to float.
Place a weight or a small bottle with brine inside or a Daikon wedge on top to keep everything under the brine.
Remember: Always submerge in brine, and all will be fine.
Set aside on a plate to ferment, somewhere nearby and out of direct sunlight, in a cool spot for 5 to 7 days.
As the buds and vegetables ferment, they begin to lose their vibrant color and the brine will get cloudy; this is when you can start to test.
They’re ready when: The buds are dull green, the goji berries are plump but still bright orange red and the brine is cloudy.
The flavor of the buds and the brine are slightly sour, with ginger and garlic notes.
Store in the fridge in the same jar, lid tight. These will keep for about a year or more.
Add to a tapenade and sprinkle on salads.
Team with smoked salmon on top of a pizza.
Used in recipes in place of preserved lemon.
Try them in pasta salads, with grilled fish or chicken, dressings and marinades.
Marinate with fresh picked tomato and use as a sauce for pasta etc.
Team with kefir / coconut cheese.
Russian salad is made with diced potatoes, carrots, peas, wild greens and dill pickles.
Steam vegetables and dice dill pickles.
Add a generous helping of fermented wild flower buds to the mixture.
Home made mayonnaise or kefir is mixed in.
To make classic dill pickles: cover fresh picked cucumber in a clean jar or crock with salted brine, and add dill seeds, wild flowers and garlic cloves.
Use tannin-rich knot weed stalks in place of cucumber.
- The leaves and flowers are the best bit of wild garlic for pesto and if you leave the bulbs even more wild garlic will be there next year.
- Please harvest sustain ably if you are fortunate enough to find a big enough patch to sustain some picking.
- Add edible wild flowers to kimchi, kraut, vegetables, fruit and kombucha.
- Edible wild flowers are the perfect finishing touch to raw treats and baked goodies.
- Drink ’em as a floral hot or cold bevvie.
Note: Always remember, while foraging can be fun, you should never eat something unless you are sure of all the facts.
Before you pick: Know the plant first, know its look-alike, know when it is edible, what part is edible, how it is edible (raw, cooked, fermented, and how) and how much is too much.
Never harvest plants near roadsides, polluted waters/areas.
🖤and bacteria Xxoo Lynnie
