How I Ferment Green Tomato Pickles

How I fermented these green tomato pickles differs from how I usually ferment other vegetables. I did several fermented green tomato recipe tests using traditional wild fermentation techniques, and I hated all of them.

When this happens in fermentation, I like to turn to a method of fermentation I came up with called wild heirloom culturing. This method uses sauerkraut brine and apple cider vinegar to ferment fresh vegetables using wild heirloom cultures found in sauerkraut brine. It’s similar to quick pickling or refrigerator pickles but includes healthy microbes.

This fermentation method is more similar to yogurt fermentation than sauerkraut fermentation… but here we are culturing vegetables with natural sauerkraut brine and ACV instead of using starter cultures.

Fermented Green Tomatoes

If you’d like to stick to a true wild fermentation method for fermenting green tomatoes, be my guest. I personally don’t enjoy the taste, but if you want to decide for yourself you can! Just use a 3% total salt concentration. I highly suggest sticking to the salt ratios in our Complete Guide to Using Salt in Fermentation if you want to try wild fermenting these tomatoes.

I’ve also found that since tomatoes have such a smooth skin, and are well washed before becoming available on store shelves, they do not always contain the microorganisms necessary for a proper wild fermentation process.

Conventionally grown tomatoes can also be treated with pesticides and vegetable washes that kill microorganisms, leaving the vegetables with little to no good microbes for wild fermentation to happen correctly.

The experiment may fail if using store-bought tomatoes, but if you’d like to try wild fermentation for green tomatoes, I suggest using this recipe:

200 Grams Green Tomatoes
200 Grams Water
12 grams unrefined sea salt

I prefer the taste and quality of the fermented green tomatoes I made using wild heirloom culturing with our sauerkraut brine and apple cider vinegar. See the recipe below!

Fermented Tomatoes

You are welcome to test out other types of tomatoes with this recipe. Note that green tomatoes are firmer than fully ripe tomatoes that are red to orange in hue. Other types of tomatoes, or fully ripe tomatoes, may come out softer. I use this kind of fermented pickle recipe to make fermented cherry tomatoes, and I love them.

Fermented Green Tomatoes

For this recipe, you will need some naturally fermented sauerkraut brine, apple cider vinegar, and a bit of salt. We, of course, utilized some of our leftover Sauerkraut brine and regular unrefined sea salt for this recipe.

My Green Tomato Pickles Recipe

This is a different kind of vegetable fermentation: Its more similar to pickling and culturing the tomatoes using sauerkraut brine, so you only need to ferment them for 48 hours, then place them in the fridge.

Always Trust your sense of smell: Fermented tomatoes should smell pleasantly sour and similar to a pickle. Never eat anything that smells repulsive.

Never eat anything that had mold growing on it: By following directions you should not encounter this problem.

Taste test at 48 hours: If you prefer the tomatoes to be more tart and sour, let them sit in the refrigerator for a few days before eating.

Fermenting Green Tomato Pickles

Keep your fermenting tomatoes at a temperature between 70-80 degrees F for 48 hours. Keep out of direct sunlight

Since this is a fermentation with added cultures from the sauerkraut brine, you should only ferment the Tomatoes at room temperature for 48 hours max. Then place the tomatoes in the refrigerator.

YES. After fermenting for 48 hours place a regular mason jar lid on the jar and refrigerate. Consume within 6 months for full probiotic benefits!

someone lifting green tomato pickles out of a mason jar with a black fork

Supplies You Need To Make Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

16 oz Wide Mouth Mason Jar
Fermentation Weight to fit your mason jar
Standard Metal Mason Jar Lid (this can rust in the presence of salt)
OR Rust Free Plastic Lid
Unrefined Sea Salt
Scale
Mixing Bowl
or you can use a Weck Jar

Fermented Pickles

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