Good evening my friends. I’m of course sitting at my desk and rocking out to Empire of the Sun and trying to concentrate enough to write this post. Not sure how I’m doing here. Its sunday night and I’ve been busy all day running errands, taking food photos for upcoming posts and writing up delectable recipes for your enjoyment :)
I bought some chocolate chips today. *gasp* It’s the holidays and I want nothing more than to bake some chocolate chip cookies. Its the only time of year I ever make them. But the whole batch won’t just be for me. I will share them...promise. I love baking in the winter, filling my house with the smells of warm chocolate and cinnamon sweetness.
Speaking of cinnamon sweetness…this Probiotic Holiday Relish is all of that and more. I was at the farmers market and tried a Fuyu Persimmon for the first time in my life and it was crunchy and super sweet. I’ve only had the mushy persimmons made into various breads in the past and didn’t care for them much. They don’t look edible to me and i don’t like mushy fruit so I stay away from them. But the Fuyu’s…The Fuyu’s are another story entirely.
I was tricked into trying them. I was strolling by a vendor at the farmers market and there was a sample plate with bright orange fruit chopped into small bite sized pieces. I thought it was a papaya. I picked up a piece and popped it into my mouth. I was so surprised. It was crunchy unlike a papaya and very sweet. I ended up buying two small baskets of them for a few bucks. Great deal for fresh picked, local fruit.
When I got back home that morning I had a counter full of persimmons and a huge paper bag of oranges from my in-laws’ tree. What was I going to do with all of this fall fruit? I’ve been pinning and reading recipes on fermenting fruit so I thought it was time to try it out myself. I had some cranberries too so i thought I would throw it all together and make a fermented fall relish.
Ta-Da!
This Probiotic Holiday Relish is full of holiday flavors. It’s sweet, tart, slightly bitter from the orange peels and rounded out by cinnamon. It’s packed with probiotics which will help you digest those heavy holiday meals and it will look great on your holiday table. You could also give it as a gift for your friends.
Letting the relish sit out for a few days on the counter allows it to ferment enough to marry all of the flavors together and makes it richer in nutrients than most relishes. It will go great served with turkey, chicken or pork.
- 2 fuyu persimmons chopped
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 orange chopped
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbl raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Cut the ends of the orange and set aside. Chop up the rest of the orange and persimmon into medium sized pieces and place in food processor along with the cranberries.
- Process in the food processor until the fruit is in small pieces and about all the same size. Place in a large bowl.
- Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and sea salt.
- Massage and squeeze the fruit with your hands for about 5-10 minutes to release the juices and break down the fruit. Let sit for 10 min to release more juice. The relish will become very wet.
- Pack the mixture down firmly into a pint sized mason jar. As you press the mixture down it will become covered in it's own juices. Continue packing the relish into the jar until there is about an inch of room from the top.
- Place the orange ends on the top of the relish and submerge in the juices. You can also use a glass weight, rock or shot glass to hold the mixture under the juice.
- Check the relish daily to make sure the fruit is under the brine, push it back down if it is not.
- After 2-3 days place in the fridge. It's ready to eat.
Add more holiday cheer to your meals and help your digestion out by making Probiotic Holiday Relish. Comment or email me if you have any questions.
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