Fermented Gooseberries

Okay, this whole food adventure happened because of a show about food that led me to a book that is all about fermentation!  The show that I stumbled on was "The Bear", the quirkiest, craziest show about chefs? restaurant business? food?   Umm...not actually sure but it was totally fun to watch.  

Anyways at one point one of the restaurant employees wanders in totally engrossed with a thick cook book in hand.  A quick screen grab and some furious searching later, I realized it was a real life cookbook, The Noma Guide to Fermentation.  Wow.  I had to get my grubby little hands on that book!

Once I finally managed to wrangle a copy of the book I gobbled away at it and here is our first 'making' from the book, fermented gooseberries, tangy little bursts of intense flavor and texture.  I've never pickled fruit before.  Aren't they beautiful?!

Chinese Pickled Chili Peppers 自製泡辣椒

Dear readers, do you recall this delightful little tongue twister?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

But...

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

I challenge you to try to say this teaser more than one time in a row.  We couldn't get through more than one reading of this tongue curler before we burst out laughing at the garbled nonsense coming out of our mouths!  

Like everyone I've known this rhyme forever but only recently did it occur to me to wonder what exactly pickled peppers are.  And why the heck chili peppers needed to be pickled.  I actually didn't think I'd ever had pickled peppers at all, but it turns out I was wrong.  I love the jalapenos used in Mexican food and they are a pickled pepper!  

I decided to make a batch of Chinese Pickled Chili Peppers 泡辣椒, also known as 腌制辣椒,  to see what all the fuss was about and discovered, to the delight of my 老公, that pickled peppers are so much MORE!