Fermented Green Coriander Seed

This recipe was made on a whim; after staring down a whole patch of coriander that had bolted and gone to seed, I was thumbing through Fermented Vegetables, by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey, and found this recipe. Well. It seemed serendipitous. And delicious. And it was. Much more fun than storing the seeds dry.

Harvest the whole coriander plant to make this easy. Strip the tiny round seeds off of the plant into a bowl. Pour the seeds into a lidded glass jar of your choice, leaving a few inches of headspace. Here, we are using the Weck Deli jar.

Make a salt brine as described above.

Pour the brine over the coriander seeds, so that it covers the seeds completely. You will have leftover brine, so make up a batch of fermented carrots, dilly beans, or other fermented delight, to use the rest of the brine, or store it in the fridge for future use.

Place a grape leaf, if using, over the seeds. The leaf keeps the seeds well beneath the brine. It has flair.

Secure the lid loosely.

Set on the counter at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and allow to ferment for 4-7 days.
As the seeds ferment, they change color, losing the vibrant green of their youth and becoming a more drab olive color. The precise color of Joshua Mc Fadden’s pants, in fact. The brine will become cloudy, like the sky over Portland.

The taste will be sour, like tiny little coriander capers. Joshua Mc Fadden had nothing to do with the making of these capers. He was just hanging out in the kitchen when we took the shot.

Store in the jar in the fridge. they will keep, refrigerated, for 6 months.
Eat them as they are. Sprinkle them over curries, soba dishes, tacos. They can add a bit of fermented flair to chimichurri, if added after the blending. Consider them in sushi. Consider them well.

Over to You

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