Fleeting Flavor

Capturing the brief flavor moments of green seeds and flower buds with fermentation

Delfino cilantro takes over my flower bed

Our friend Kirsten K. Shockey is an admirable force in the fermentation world. She writes the Fermenting Change newsletter and is the author of Fermented Vegetables and other fermenty books. You can find her on Instagram too. We’re thrilled to have her as a guest, writing about one of my (Peter’s) favorite garden delicacies: green coriander seeds. As plants both wild and domestic flower and set seed, think about preserving some in your kitchen. It’s an easy way to capture the potent flavor of seeds at their peak.

Here’s Kirsten:

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This spring, two feathery plants began to grow in one of my flower beds. I did not know what they were, but I did know that they were “something” and not one of the regular volunteers that show up in this area. These two little plants grew and grew verdantly. At some point, I picked a bit of leaf and crushed it between my fingers and was delighted that they were cilantro. Not ordinary cilantro. I’d have recognized those in an instant, but Delfino cilantro, a variety I’d grown last summer. Last summer’s plants were fine. They were tasty but not vigorous, which is maybe why I didn’t give them another thought. 

These two plants that grew on their own are the most vital cilantro plants I have ever seen. As they began to flower along my porch, alongside the other flowering plants, not vegetables, I learned that this cilantro is a powerful pollinator plant. For the last month or more, these two plants have been doling out the nectar to the tiniest of pollinators. Alas, their time is nearly over; as an annual plant, they are headed to seed, producing the aromatic coriander seed. At this brief moment in time, these underdeveloped seeds might be one of the most delicious moments in this herb’s life. 

The green seeds are soft, unlike coriander, and the flavor lingers somewhere between the coriander it is becoming and the fresh green flavor of the cilantro it once was. When you bite into one, they burst in a pop of flavor I find enchanting. I sprinkle them as a garnish on just about everything savory, though I have also put them on a summer fruit salad. The seeds are only in this magical state for a few days, as they keep marching towards the mature coriander seed. 

Several years ago, I realized that I could capture this flavor by making the world’s tiniest pickles. I make a small jar most years to extend the joy they bring us. An immature edible seed, if delicious, can be preserved with simple brine pickling. Other examples newly formed dill seeds, fennel seeds, carrot seeds, nasturtium seeds, very small tender milkweed pods, and more. It is a matter of considering the edible seeds you have access to. Besides being safe for human consumption, the most important thing for a good garnish seed pickle is that the seed has not begun to become woody. The flavor changes and the mouthfeel is chewy and woody if they have matured beyond the early stages. This true of the green coriander and nasturtium seeds in particular. 

In this photo, you will see that as the seed becomes larger, it also begins to turn slightly yellow. The seedhead at the bottom will already taste somewhat bitter and woody. If you only have a few plants, you can pick the first flush of seeds and put them in your brine and add subsequent harvests over the next week. 

Flower buds can also be made into lovely little pickles. The default word for these bud/seed pod pickles is a caper: cilantro caper, dandelion caper, nasturtium caper, and so on. This is a borrowed word that comes from the true caper, the most famous flower bud pickle, which is made from the unopened flower buds of the caper bush, Capparis spinosa. Another popular culinary flower bud, also originally from the Mediterranean, that humans enjoy eating and pickling is the artichoke. Dandelion buds are often one of the first seasonal ferments I make in the spring. Again, the first concern is that the buds are safe for human consumption, but the most essential harvest consideration is that the buds are tightly closed and truly unopened; don’t be fooled by buds that have opened and then closed again. Other flower buds suitable for pickling include tasty, unopened flower buds such as magnolia buds, milkweed buds, onion flower buds, and garlic scapes, among others. (Zucchini flower buds weren’t a hit…)

Oregano flower buds

Other flowers are delicious when they are in bud or early in their bloom. I am thinking of herbs like oregano, basil, and tulsi. These aren’t great as brined pickles on their own as they are too small and soft, but they don’t look past them. Use them as sprigs in other brine ferments or as flavoring in sauerkrauts, chutneys, and other fermented condiments.

As the season progresses, if you keep your eye out, you will find that many flavors and colors can be captured in a jar to take out when you want to remember spring and summer. 

To ferment green seeds and buds

Make a 3% brine. This is one tablespoon of salt per pint (2 cups) or if you use a kitchen scale, weigh the amount of water in grams and multiply it by .03, this will give you the number of grams of salt to add. 

Cover your seeds/buds in brine and use something to keep them submerged. This can be an edible leaf that you wedge over the top, or a leaf and jar weight. 

Screw on the lid and leave on the counter to ferment for a week or two. As it is fermenting be mindful of the lid—if you feel pressure, give a quick twist to release it. Often these don’t need much burping. 

They are ready when the brine is cloudy and is at a pH of 4.6 or lower. You will also see that the bright green (or other color) will turn dull. Store in the refrigerator.

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Thanks, Kirsten!