FAIL!

Ever heard of "Lacto-Fermented Vegetables"??  Neither have I.  But, they are an ancient and traditional way of preserving foods and a way to make them a nutritional powerhouse to boot.  My first attempt was "Gingered Carrots" and is pictured below:

So I don't have a wide-mouthed quart-sized canning jar like the instructions said so thought I'd use this old pickle jar instead.  Doesn't it look all bright and cheery?  See how I put the contrasting green and blue hot pad underneath to accentuate it's cheeriness?  I followed the instructions in my "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook to prepare the "Lacto Fermented" carrots and then set them on the counter for 3 days to let the whey do it's work on the carrots before refrigerating.

Well....I think I need to turn up a quart-sized canning jar.  One thing with "Lacto-Fermenting" anything is it's an air-tight operation.  No air is to come or go during the room temperature portion of the process.  I am going to conclude that pickle jars are not air-tight once they've been opened at home.  The first day on the counter-top, I thought I might want to make sure the lid was as tight as possible.  When I twisted it "righty-tighty" it let out a tiny hiss and I could smell a smell.  Not an unpleasant one mind you, but a smell nonetheless.  So I said to myself:  "Oops...I guess it wasn't air-tight.  Well, we'll see what happens."  The next day I would occasionally catch a "pickle-like" whiff when I was near the jar and by day three the whiff wasn't so nice and there was a foam growing on top of my pretty orange carrots.  Boo-hoo. 

So, I cranked the lid really righty-tighty which released a strong vapor and hissing sound and I promptly chucked it in the garbage.  I wonder if it will eventually blow it's top somewhere in "garbage land"?  Ew.

I'll let you know how my next attempt works out.  Stay tuned...