FERMENTED GOOSEBERRIES (OR CRANBERRIES)

❚ Generous 1 tbsp good-quality,

❚ additive-free salt

❚ 4 1/4 cups (1 L) freshly boiled filtered or bottled water, left to cool a little1

❚ 1/3 cups (200 g) organic gooseberries (or cranberries)

❚ 1 unsprayed tannin-rich leaf, such as oak — optional

1. First clean your jar. Either put it through a hot dishwater cycle or hand-wash in hot, soapy water. Sterilize the clean jar by submerging it in vigorously boiling water for 10 minutes, then pour out the water and allow to air dry.

2. In a jug, mix the salt into the stillwarm water to make a brine, then leave to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

3. Half-fill your sterilized jar with the gooseberries. Add the leaf, if using, and pour in enough of the cooled brine to cover the gooseberries completely.

To keep them submerged, you can either use a special pickle weight or a scrupulously clean pebble sealed in a small plastic bag.

4. Cover the jar loosely with the lid and leave at room temperature for 3 days. Using a clean spoon, take out one of the berries and taste to check the level of sourness — if you’d like it to be a little more intense, you can let them ferment for another day or two.

5. Once you are happy with your ferment, secure the lid and store in the fridge to use as needed. If you use a clean spoon every time and ensure the gooseberries remain below the surface of the brine, they should keep well for a couple of months.

Makes: 1 x 1-quart (1-L) jar

Recipes and images excerpted from Amber & Rye: A Baltic Food Journey. Copyright 2021 by Zuza Zak. Photographs copyright 2021 by Ola O. Smit. Published by Interlink Books. Reprinted with permission

of the publisher.