At the Market: Vendors offer pickled and fermented products

At first glance, a jar of bright cucumbers on the shelf might look the same whether it’s pickled or fermented. But ask any food enthusiast or better yet, a vendor at the Loveland Farmers Market and they’ll tell you there’s a world of difference between these two methods of preserving food.

Pickling is the process of preserving food in an acidic solution, usually vinegar, sometimes enhanced with herbs, spices, or sugar. The acid halts bacterial growth, giving vegetables their signature tangy, sharp bite.

Fermentation, on the other hand, relies on naturally occurring microorganisms. In lacto-fermentation, beneficial bacteria feed on the sugars and starches in vegetables, producing lactic acid. That lactic acid both preserves the food and develops complex flavors, probiotics, and a softer t