The New Urban Homesteaders

NASTURTIUMS    

When I started planning my vegetable gardens the one thing I knew for sure is that I wanted lots of flowers interspersed throughout. I wanted it to look pretty but also wanted to select good companion plants. Turns out that these babies are not only lovely and bright but are a good companion plant for over a dozen different veggies. 

So, lovely to look at and a great companion plant. What else? The flowers of the nasturtium are really nice in salads. They not only look pretty but they have a mild peppery (not sure if that’s a word) flavour.

At the end of the season when I was pulling up spent plants I noticed these pods falling off the nasturtium plants. Onto Google I went and found that these too are edible. They are referred to as the “poor mans’ capers”.

    The process is quite straight forward. You need to scrub off any leftover pod cover, which is a paper consistency. Best just to use the fingers/thumb method. Once you are satisfied that they are completely clean; pack them into sterilized jars and add the brine. I read different recipes and decided to go with a fermentation instead of pickling. I’m excited to try different things through fermentation and it’s a much simpler process.

    FERMENTED NASTURTIUM PODS

    Nasturtium pods

    1 cup filtered water

    2 tsp. salt (no iodine)

    Clean your pods and pack into clean jars

    Fill with brine and add a weight

    Apply the lid and set on the counter for a few days

    Drain and add fresh brine using the ratio of 2 tsp salt to 1 cup of water

    Apply the weight and lid and set aside for another few days

    So it has to be said that fermentation is not an exact science. Give them a taste after about a week and see how you feel about the finished product. These will keep in the fridge indefinitely.

    Add them to salads or tacos or………

    So, full disclosure here; this process is labour intensive. Unless you really love capers or know someone who does whom you would like to gift…..Anyway, I’ve done it and they really closely resemble capers at a fraction of the cost. Again, it’s that “peppery” flavour.

    Finished Product