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Lacto-Fermented Blueberries (2% Salt Method)

If you have an abundance of blueberries, fermenting them is a great option to preserve them and enjoy them for weeks, plus fermenting creates beneficial probiotic bacteria for a healthy gut.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Fermentation Time (Estimate) 3 days
Course: Snack
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Blueberries
  • Salt, non-iodized

Equipment

  • 1 Kitchen Scale
  • 1 Fermentation Vessel with Weight This can be a fermentation kit or simply a jar with something to weigh down the blueberries, such as a Ziploc bag with water in it, or a smaller jar that fits inside the fermentation jar.

Method
 

  1. Rinse and dry blueberries.
  2. Place blueberries in a bowl and weigh them. (Be sure to hit the "tare" or "zero" button before adding the blueberries to the bowl so you are weighing only the blueberries.)
  3. Calculate 2% of this weight and add that amount of salt. (For example, if you have 800g of blueberries, use a calculator to do 800 x 0.02, to get 16g of sat.)
  4. Thoroughly mix the blueberries and salt. You can slightly crush the blueberries if you'd like.
  5. Transfer the blueberry and salt mixture to the fermentation vessel. With a spatula, scrape out any remaining salt in the bowl so it's all in the fermentation vessel.
  6. Cover with a fermentation weight. Close with a lid. Fermentation kits often have an airlock built into them; if you're using a regular lid, don't close it super tight so that built-up gas can escape.
  7. Taste the blueberries daily until they've reached an appropriate level of fermentation for your taste (see note below); this should take three to seven days, depending on the temperature. When fermented, store the jar in the fridge. Blueberries should remain in good condition for several weeks.

Notes

I found it took four days before we felt it was fully fermented. The taste test assessment will be a bit of a trial and error because it's difficult to know what tastes ready if you haven't tasted it before. Even if you're uncertain, having the blueberries ferment for a minimum of three days means there's at least some fermentation that's occurred, so if you put them in the fridge a little too early, you'll still benefit from a partial fermentation.
We found that salt fermentation led to a bit of a salty-sour taste that isn't super appealing when eating the blueberries straight (versus in yogurt or a smoothie), so our next attempt will be fermenting using a sugar brine. (Update: here it is.)