Today we have another guest post as part of our lacto-fermented week. If you’ve missed any of it be sure to check out my intro, Lacto-Fermented Roasted Tomato Salsa and Lacto-Fermented Escabeche. Today Cara from Health, Home, & Happiness shares with us a lovely recipe for fermented carrot sticks. For those of us who have had a hard time fermenting shredded carrots, this might be the recipe for us! I am excited to try this one. I am sharing it today to be part of Pennywise Platter Thursday as it’s also a much more frugal than many other fermented vegetables. I asked Cara why she only used 1 tablespoon of whey instead of the 4 tablespoons that Sally Fallon calls for in Nourishing Traditions. She explained that she experimented a bit to see if she could cut down on the whey as it could be pricey to use so much of it when making a lot of fermented vegetables. She found that it worked just as well! Another frugal tip. Thanks Cara!
We love carrot sticks, and we also love the health benefits of lacrofermented foods; they are rich in probiotics that help keep the gut flora in balance which in turn allows us to digest our food and absorb nutrients better. Lactofermented Carrot Sticks are an easy ‘side dish’ to add probiotics to any meal or snack! If you have children who like to help in the kitchen, this is an easy and fun project they can help with. My toddler likes to put the carrot sticks in the jar, and pretend to peel carrots with a butter knife.
Fermented carrot sticks are also easier for little mouths to chew- perfect for young eaters.
Recipe for Lacto-Fermented Dilly Carrot Sticks
- 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
- 1 tablespoon whey
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 cloves of garlic, quartered (optional)
- Filtered water
Place the carrot sticks into a quart mason jar (or other quart sized container with a lid that fits snugly) and add the rest of the ingredients, shaking gently to settle the carrots if needed.
Fill to within one inch of the top with filtered water.
Cover tightly and allow to sit at room temperature for 4-7 days; you can try them at 4 days and see if you want them to be more sour or not, to get them more sour/soft leave them out at room temperature longer. Because the carrots are more dense, they take longer to ferment than other lactoferments like sauerkraut or pickles. They also stay crunchier, which we like!
After fermenting at room temperature, keep in your fridge- they last for months!
A note about whey and dairy: We have made lactofermented veggies without using whey when my daughter was doing a strict dairy free trial. Now that she can tolerate some dairy again, we use it. I make my own whey out of yogurt. If you are dairy free, you can omit the whey and use two tablespoons of sea salt rather than one.
Are carrot sticks a frequent snack at your house like they are at mine?
Cara writes at Health, Home, & Happiness about traditional foods and healthy living. She lives in Montana with her
family where they enjoy family activities outdoors during the summer months, and experimenting with cooking more during the winter.
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m going to try this — got a whole bunch of carrots yesterday at the Farmer’s Market. They’ll be perfect. Thanks, Cara!
I just made homemade ketchup a couple days ago. Could I just add some whey to it to make it lactofermented? Or since I already refrigerate it does that ruin the process? Thanks for your help!
well…being German I’m familiar with sauerkraut but I’m really intrigued with fermenting other veggies. I make my own kim chee and that’s delicious. thank you for all of this information.
Thank you, thank you for including this one on carrot sticks, a staple snack around our house. They will be made even better now! Also, since the summer harvest is rolling in, I highly recommend the tomato pepper relish on p. 101 of Nourishing Traditions. I used a variety of tomatoes from the farmer’s market, and it’s deee-lish after just 2 days of fermenting. Fabulous.
Is there any hope for a family that needs to ‘monitor’ salt intake?
I’m intrigued by all the lactofermented foods and their health benefits…
but we need to watch our salt.
Any suggestions welcome
Here’s some salt info from the WAPF website that may be helpful, depending on your reasons for monitoring salt intake.
Commercial Salt:
The salt that you find in table salt and most processed foods is sodium chloride. Salt in this form has been processed at high temperatures, which changes the molecular structure and removes vital minerals from the salt. Table salt also contains additives, anticaking agents, and even sugar. Excess salt consumption is associated with high blood pressure, fluid retention, heart and kidney disease.
Trash It: Dump out your salt shaker and toss out all other packaged or processed foods with a high sodium content. This should be pretty easy for most people.
Stash it: We have been told for years to avoid salt, but following this advice can lead to even more problems. We are all salty on the inside–our blood, sweat, tears, and even our urine–it’s all salty. It’s important to replenish the salt in our body, using the right salt is what makes all the difference in the world. The best way to put salt back into your body is to use Celtic sea salt. This high quality salt contains over 80 balanced minerals from the sea. Celtic sea salt is essential for maintaining proper fluid balance and utilization in the body. It also normalizes blood pressure, enhances digestion, and nourishes the adrenal glands. Celtic sea salt is available at many natural food stores or can be ordered through The Grain and Salt Society, call 1-800-TOPSALT.
I’d like to know the minimum amount of salt needed to turn out a healthy (not spoiled) product simply because using 2 tablespoon of salt in a quart of pickles is unpalatable to me, and I’m a salt fiend! I used Real Salt and added an oak leaf, per a recipe I got online, maybe here, and got good texture. I’m fermenting some right now using 4 teaspoons salt instead of 2 tablespoons. We’ll see how it works!
I love this idea! Thanks so much! What a great way to get the lacto-fermentation in something we love to eat anyways. I used to go to Mexican restaurant that had carrots that had marinated with jalapenos. They were INCREDIBLE. I wonder if I could do something similar with lacto-fermenting the carrots with some peppers. Can jalapenos be lacto-fermented?
Diana, I’ve added jalapeños to my green beans before- they’d be great added to the carrots!
Does anyone know if it matters if the veggies bob to the top of the liquid while fermenting? I just did a batch of cucumbers and I could not get them to all stay under the liquid! When we ate them there was some kind of white stuff on the parts that bobbed out, but we just sliced it off and ate the rest (which was delicious). But anyone know if it truly matters whether they are completely covered or not?
I don’t worry about it. Sometimes mine do too, and I’ve never had a batch go bad because of it. I think Kimi uses a weighted plate to hold hers down below the liquid, for sauerkraut at least.
I’ve really been enjoying your blog for quite some time, and especially love these lacto-fermented ideas! I have never done this type of preserving and am anxious to give it a try. Once I have made whey, how do I keep it? How long does it keep? Oh, and do you have a recipe for making your own yogurt?
Thanks Kimmie!
I was told to keep my whey covered in the fridge and it would last for 6 months.
Thanks Lori!
I might need to try this because I’ve been trying to get more fermented foods into my daughter, and her current obsession is carrots! Hmm…another weekend project?
Jennifer P., In regards to your salt intake, is that just iodized salt (the bad stuff) or have you looked into sea salt? The sea salt is great for you and not at all like the junk from the store!
I’ve never made whey before. Wouldn’t it make a difference that the yogurt used to make the whey is pasteurized?
It’s okay if the milk is pasteurized (like making homemade yogurt from pasteurized milk) but the whey needs to have the live active cultures. Dripping whey out of ‘grocery store’ yogurt with live active cultures is just fine. But powdered whey protein powder wouldn’t be. Does that help?
This sounds really good although I don’t have fresh dill but I do have basil and fresh parsley. Do you think they would be good herbs to use instead?
I’ve used basil before, I’d dice it before adding so it can add more flavor
I’ve never tried parsley before but I think it’s worth a try.
Hi Kimi – I am in the process of following your recipe for Sauerkraut, but using red cabbage – I think it is working, thanks so much! Question: When making Yogurt cheese, the liquid that drains off from the Yogurt, is that Whey? Do you think that would work as well? Thanks again, Ina
Hi Ina, I’m not Kimi but yes that’s whey. That’s what I use. Enjoy your sauerkraut, isn’t it pretty with the red cabbage?
thanks Cara! And yes the red cabbage is pretty, and darned tasty too!
Lovin’ the fermented veg. recipes. Have the Escabeche going with one batch whey and one experiment with water kefir. Going to try some dilly carrots tomorrow and salsa when I have more tomatoes.
I just made more pickles yesterday, can’t wait for them to be ready to test in a few days
I think this will be my next experiment, well, this and the salsa 
I am so excited to try this recipe! I love fermented food! I’m going to make these today!!
My dd and I made these on Friday. We couldn’t wait and tried them today! They are Soooooo good. The whole family loves them. They aren’t going to last long in my house! I am wondering, can I just add more carrots to the brine that is left over or do I need to start from scratch every time? If so how many times do you think? Just wondering. Thanks for you wonderful recipe!
I need help: a little off topic but I was reminded by the use of whey and reading about soaking/sprouting grains. Can I use King Arthur flour or is that very different from using fresh milled flour? Can I soak the flour and then make bread with it? I am new to all of this and SO CONFUSED! Any help of insight will be appreciated.
Hi Stephanie,
I sent you to an article explaining “why you should mill your own wheat.” It explains what is in flour from the store, or that you buy and why people choose to grind their own. It appears that King Arthur flour is made from the same stuff you buy in the store, and is devoid of all of the nutrients that are in the bran and germ of the wheat. You can still make any bread recipe from regular flour but I’m not sure you need to soak store bought flour. I think that is only if you grind your own flour. Maybe other people know this for sure? Happy bread making!
http://www.grainmaster.com.au/why.html
Thanks Sonya! And to think…. I was paying about $2 more for King Arthur thinking that they were better. Clever packaging I guess. Thanks for the info. At least I’ll get the cheaper wheat stuff before I start milling my own.
I am excited to try these fermented carrots… I’ve done the (grated) ginger carrots in the Nourishing Traditions book. And my son, who is an absolute carrot lover, liked them. But they did not last long, as they molded rather quickly (even in the fridge).
I think the fermented carrot sticks would make a perfect snack anytime of the day. Plus, it will help to get my son eating more fermented foods… which is what we are working on. Now on the other hand, my daughter will eat up just about any fermented food she can get her hands on
Thanks for posting this recipe.
I have used dill seeds in conventional pickles and whatnot; do you think dill seeds would work in this in place of the dried or fresh dill? I just like the seeds better. I am thinking it shouldn’t make much difference. I think my kids might like these- they LOVE carrot sticks. Thanks for the tasty-sounding recipe!
Anybody have any good recipes for lacto fermented swiss chard or a lacto ferment with apples. I have an abundance of both. thanks,
seth
I made the salsa & left it out to ferment on the counter for 2 days. It is already VERY fizzy. Do you think it’s OK?
This looks so delicious and easy! Thanks! We tried the shredded carrot recipe from NT and didn’t like it. I’d been thinking of trying slices but this is even better. Nice to note that you can ferment it to taste, too. I make sauerkraut and cortido by the gallon, this will add to the variety.
I just made the carrot sticks (5 quart jars, should have made more) and what an easy project this is!!! Very easy and quick. All the ingredients I had on hand and so glad they don’t have any ginger in this recipe like in NT, I just didn’t like those at all. And I was wondering what to do with all the carrots I had in the fridge
They already look so yummy but now we have to wait 4-7 days to taste them =)
I’ve been making half gallons of fermented carrots at a time with dill and garlic. I don’t use the whey and really enjoy the results. So that I can dip them out of the brine with a slotted spoon, I like to cut my rounds on a slight diagonal which makes oval discs which look so well on a plate with other salad ingredients. I also add them to a tossed salad rather than cutting up fresh vegetables. They go very well in salmon/tuna salad and for that I cut them up more. I’ve also fermented lots of dill in one jar when I had the chance and kept it in the fridge to put in anything I would use fresh dill for. I found that in carrots or pickles, I liked having the dill cut up so that it wouldn’t come out with every spoonful of carrots and drag itself out of the jar (hard to avoid). Next to try?…….fermenting sorrel, a wonderful flavoring leaf but I’ll have to wait until spring.
Just made these. They look so beautiful on my counter. I have a couple of questions:
1) Can I reuse the liquid?
2) I love pickled garlic. Could I use this ratio for fermenting a huge batch of garlic?
3) Do you know how many grams of protein is in that liquid whey that comes off the yogurt? Could I drink it over ice or something to get an extra protein boost?
LOVE your site!
Karen, you shouldn’t reuse the liquid for trying to ferment more veggies, it will have drawn some liquid from the carrots and will no longer have the correct percentage of salt. If you wanted to do something else with it though, it’d probably be fine. (add a splash to salad dressing maybe?)
I am getting some wonderful elephant garlic out of my garden, and I am lactofermenting them using the brine ration recommended at wildfermentation.com. I never use whey, just salt.
Whey is great for other things though, my favorite thing to do with it is to add .75 cup to 32oz of organic juice, bottle it in a vessel that has an airtight closure like a wire bail top (ikea has bottles with those) and set at room temp for two days – your juice is now carbonated! If I have more whey than I can use I sometimes use it as part of the liquid in making breads and other baked goods.
Hi, I’m new here. I really want to learn how to cook like this but I’ll admit it scares me to death (mind you, I’m a pretty good cook, but this is all soo new!!).
Anyway, I’m going to try making the carrot sticks and I’m going to try making fermented cauliflower and broccoli as well. Hopefully these other veggies will work as well.
Thanks for this blog – I’m really excited.
Laura, I wish you well in your new venture! I have had luck with cauliflower but not broccoli and I don’t know why, so if you try it and it isn’t tasty, don’t worry, it happened to me several times. A favorite of mine is zuchinni fermented with a red bell pepper, onions, hot pepper flakes, and oregano. This one gets better and better as it ages in the fridge. – Judy
Thank you gor this recipe! Made this with basil and garlic for pesto carrot sticks. They were great, the first lacto-fermented veggie I have enjoyed! Do you think your ratio (only 1 T whey) for the liquid would work for all other ferments, or is it specific to this one?
I’m 9 months pregnant and have been CRAVING pickles and carrot sticks, so this is the perfect combination of both! I made this last week and have tried a stick each day. They were delicious from the start, but they are just now starting to taste “pickled” and sour – Mmmmm! I think I’ll leave them out at least one more day, and I better start another batch because I’m sure I will eat this entire jar within a week!
I made these last week and we tried them for the first time tonight and they were a huge hit with my very picky kids
I had tried to get them to eat the LF pickles but they turned up their noses, but they asked for more of these and ate the whole jar! Thanks for sharing.
Just found this post about lacto-fermenting and see that there has not been any discussion for months, but hoping someone might see my post and have an answer. This is all new to me and I want to try my hand at LF. My question is: How long can one store the finished product? I don’t want to can the produce because I think the heat will destroy the benefits of LF.
Thanks! Sandy
If you just do salt do you need to let them ferment for longer?
I am new at lacto-fermenting and am very exciting to be doing it. My naturalpathic doctor told me to eat raw, fermented vegetables everyday. My one concern is that I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old, so I am nervous about food safety. When fermenting, can the food go bad? How would I know? Can one get botulism or other forms of food-born illness? I use whey from home-made raw milk yogurt, so I guess my mind can comprehend how that cannot go bad when sitting out for days.
By the way, thank you for all of the great recipes and ideas.
Thank you,
April
I am new at lacto-fermenting and am very exciting to be doing it. My naturalpathic doctor told me to eat raw, fermented vegetables everyday. My one concern is that I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old, so I am nervous about food safety. When fermenting, can the food go bad? How would I know? Can one get botulism or other forms of food-born illness? I use whey from home-made raw milk yogurt, so I guess my mind can’t comprehend how that cannot go bad.
By the way, thank you for all of the great recipes and ideas.
Thank you,
April
I just finished making these (my first fermented item ever- yay!) and they taste great. The only thing is mine turned out a bit salty. Do you know if there’s a way to decrease or omit the salt and still have it turn out safely? Could I just double the whey?
I’d like to make these with organic carrots (from Trader Joe’s, not local unfortunately). Would it work to leave the peels on, as long as I washed the carrots well?
I left the peeling on, and they turned out great! It took a few carrot sticks for the taste to grow on me, but now I eat some with lunch every day. My husband isn’t quite as fond of them, but I think I could win him over by fermenting the next batch 4 days instead of 5.
I made these last week, altering the recipe a bit because I had extra on hand and could make 6 quarts. I added 4 T of whey, kept the 1 T of salt, added maybe 6 cloves of garlic (would have added more if I had more), and plain old well water. My house sits around 80 deg during the day, so these really fermented well. I had to open the lids very, very carefully after 3 days to let out the pressure as they (wide mouth quart jars with reused, clean lids), were starting to bulge because of the pressure. I put them in the fridge early as we were leaving for the weekend. Results? So good! I am on the GAPS diet, and the fizzy juice is perfect to drink with the crunchy carrots a great side dish. I loved pickled items before, but I might never go back to vinegar again! I think I am going to load up on fresh garlic and do this same thing! This is now a written down recipe in my copy of Nourishing Traditions.
I doubled the whey and used basil instead of dill. They were delicious, and just got better and better with age! I ate the last of them today, and they’d been around for at least two weeks. This afternoon I will make more, and I think I might toss in some crushed red pepper to spice it up.
We just finished our first jar of these and have made a second. This is my first lacto-fermenting attempt, and it was great to have such success! Very motivating! My kids ages 6, 5, and 3 love them!
Just made my first batch of these and have a question: the carrots have been fermenting 5 days at room temp so I thought I’d give them a try. Before I opened the jar, I noticed that the liquid looked carbonated (little bubbles coming up from the bottom) and when I started to twist off the lid, it made that sound you hear after shaking up a bottle of soda and opening it… Is this normal? I just tightened the top and stuck it in the fridge…