Published by

Eric Albee

It’s officially springtime in Pensacola! The Palafox market was bright green with spring lettuce and leafy greens. Normally, I try to get to the market when it opens, to try and see everything the vendors have.

This morning, I arrived when they opened and one of the vendors had storage tubs of fennel bulbs sitting in water. I bought 4 bulbs and the vendor was completely out of fennel.

The fronds were huge and I immediately knew I wanted to lactoferment them. My partner dropped off a few mason jars last night and the timing was perfect.

I ran home and washed the dirt off the bulbs and trimmed the fronds. They filled my sink. After chopping them, I put them in a 2% salt brine. In one jar, I put a few fresh crushed cloves of garlic. I’ll let them go for 10-14 days and then check on them.