You may have made your own lacto-fermented salsa before. It’s easy enough, but it does take some time to chop all the tomatoes and onions, etc.

I have just discovered a way to make real lacto-fermented salsa in just 30 seconds.

Don’t believe me? It’s true.

Last week, we had some friends over for fish tacos and they brought some jars of fresh salsa from the health food store. If you’ve ever bought salsa from the grocery store, you know that it goes bad in a day or two in the fridge — so you have to eat it up right away or toss it.

The morning after the dinner party, it dawned on me. Why not just add some starter culture to the store-bought salsas? If you can culture homemade salsa, you can certainly culture store-bought salsa.

This salsa is the perfect compliment to my homemade corn tortilla chips.

Why Lacto-fermented Salsa?

Unlike fresh salsa which you can only store in the fridge for a day or two, lacto-fermented salsa will keep for weeks or even months in the fridge. I’ve kept it in there for up to 6 months!

Of course, the best reason to culture your salsa is for the health benefits. Lacto-fermented salsa is loaded with enzymes and probiotics. Read my post about why you want to get more enzymes into your diet. Read my post about why fermented foods are so good for you.

Recipe Notes

OK, if you want to get technical, this is not really 30 Second Salsa because you do have to let it sit on the counter for a day or two.

It occurred to me that this would also work for all kinds of store-bought condiments — from ketchup to mayonnaise. We regularly buy our mayonnaise because I don’t have time to make lacto-fermented mayonnaise from scratch. See my resources page for a brand of mayonnaise that contains no soybean or canola oil. Why not just open up the jar of mayo and add a little starter culture?

30-Second Lacto-fermented Salsa

Ingredients

Salsa, store-bought, ideally organic and fresh from the refrigerated section
Starter culture

Equipment

Mason jar

Directions

1. Open the jar of salsa.
2. Pour into a mason jar.
3. Stir in the starter culture (previously mixed with water) or whey with a spoon. You need 1 TBS of liquid vegetable starter or whey — per cup of salsa.
4. Cover with a lid (on loosely) or a dishcloth, or a paper towel or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
5. Let ferment on the counter for 2-3 days.
6. Salsa will keep for weeks or months in fridge.

Photo credit: mswine on Flickr