This version is my favorite:
Ingredients per QUART
1 sweet onion, chopped or sliced 🧅
2 Jalapeños, sliced 🌶
1 bulb fresh garlic, peeled (yes, the entire bulb) 🧄
2 baby carrots 🥕
1 thumb fresh ginger, diced or grated or sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange, sliced 🍊
1 lemon, sliced 🍋
1 date
1 tsp whole peppercorns
About 1 pint apple cider vinegar with the mother
Method
1. Fill a 1-quart mason jar with the dry ingredients
2. Add apple cider vinegar, leaving about 1” head space
3. Cover with a fermenting weight to keep ingredients submerged, then secure fermenting lid. OR use plastic lid OR parchment paper under the metal lid and screw band.
4. If you’re not using fermentation lid be sure to burp the jar daily
5. Ready to use as a flavored vinegar in 24 hours. Simply drain the liquid into a glass container and refill the jar with fresh vinegar
6. For a fermented product place jar on kitchen counter out of direct sunlight and allow to ferment for 4 weeks or up to 8 weeks. Once fermented the liquid can be strained into a separate container and refrigerated OR simply refrigerated as is
7. Vegetables can be minced or puréed into a paste and used in a variety of recipes including relishes, stir-fries, sandwich toppings or spread, salad dressing and my personal fave — mushroom antipasto
Notes
1. The garlic may turn a blue as it ferments. This is normal
2. Ingredients can be varied based on flavor preferences
3. For gift-giving, I use pint jars instead of quarts and cut the volume of ingredients in half