Cantaloupe Mix Lacto-Ferment - My 2nd Ferment - I'm Experimenting & Learning...

1 - small organic cantaloupe

1 - medium sized wild apple cored and diced

1 - slice of non-organic pineapple diced

1/4 cup - frozen raspberries

juice and pulp from 1 lime

1 Tbsp unrefined sea salt

1 Tbsp from my first attempt as a starter

This made enough to fill a  liter mason jar to the shoulder.  The mixture fermented wildly and came close to overflowing, so I added sesame oil on top again (my attempt to keep air away from the mixture) -- don't know if this was necessary...  The fermentation slowed if the jar was tightly capped, but then the jar was under A LOT of pressure, so I left the lid screwed down loosely and the fermentation settled down....  I think it was best after 3 days, but I left it in my warm cupboard for 4 days, before moving it to the fridge.  It's a little fizzy and tastes QUITE strange, but feels OK and I did eat all of it...  However, I don't think I'd do this one again -- I don't really like the taste of the fermented cantaloupe AT ALL!  Also although the addition of the sesame oil on top of the ferment may be a good option to keep the air out, for the 5 years since I made this recipe, I haven't found it to be necessary...

Mango Chutney Lacto-Ferment- my very first ferment...

3/4 of a non-organic mango chopped

1 - non-organic lime squeezed

1 - small piece of apple diced finely

a few frozen cranberries chopped

4 tsp. white sea salt

This made enough for a 500 ml. jar. I topped it with a small amount of sesame oil and let it ferment for a week.  I thought the sesame oil might provide an air lock...  It was very salty and the fermentation was slow... Perhaps the use of non-organic ingredients or my white sea salt had iodine added... or the sesame oil wasn't helpful... However, in retrospect I suspect this needed a starter and I didn't use one...

I used about 1/2 of this and then added:

1 - non-organic mango chopped

1/2" non-organic slice of pineapple diced finely

1 - med. wild apple cored and finely diced

- juice and pulp of one non-organic small lemon

1/4 -  3/8 cup frozen cranberries chopped

1 rounded tsp. unrefined sea salt

This filled a liter mason jar to the shoulder, fermented well and tasted good.