Salted limes are quick and simple to make. They are also an incredibly versatile ingredient to have on hand, as they can be used to make drinks or added to dishes that require salty and sour flavour notes.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Fermentation Time90 daysd
Servings: 20
Author: Brewbird
Equipment
1 1L Mason Jar
Ingredients
6-8Limes
2 cupsNon-iodized saltNatural sea salt, Coarse pickling salt
Instructions
Rinse the limes under the sink, and scrub the skins clean. Dry the limes well with a paper towel.
Cut both ends off of the limes. Cut the limes in quarters.
Pour a light layer of salt onto the bottom of the jar. Dip the lime quarters into your bowl of salt, until they are covered in salt and place them into the jar. Repeat until you have a layer of limes. Sprinkle more salt to cover the limes and any air pockets.
Layer the salted limes in the jar, gently pushing down on the limes to minimize empty space. Add more salt to fill in any air pockets between the limes. The final layer should be of salt. Add more salt if needed to cover the limes and fill in any gaps.
Place the jar on a sunny windowsill and loosely screw the jar lid on. As the salt dissolves, the lacto-fermentation will occur. Press the top of the lid to test if there is pressure in the jar. Release the pressure by gently loosening the lid. There will be hissing and bubbles as the CO2 gas escapes the jar.
When the jar is not actively fermenting (no hissing or bubbling), you can move the jar of salted limes to your kitchen cupboard and and forget about it for the next 2.5 months. Keep the lid a little loose on the jar.
The limes are ready when you can cut through the peel with a spoon. The salt should have the consistency of a syrup now. Use your limes to make vietnamese lime soda or chop them up to use in marinades, stews, or salad dressings!
Notes
I used roughly equal parts limes to salt by weight. Six quartered limes weighed 520 grams, and I used about 505 grams of salt to cover them.