Recipe from Makisawsaw 2: Community Gardens edition by Gretchen Consunji-Lim
ripe kamias, bruise free
sea salt*
- Sort kamias. Choose only the ones unblemished. Save bruised fruit for another use.
- Remove any petals and stems from the tops of the kamias. Wash and wipe dry.
- Into the sterilized bottle, alternately layer kamias and salt, beginning with kamias and ending with salt.
- Cover the bottle with its lid and store in a cool, dry place for a few days until buro is ready, about 2 weeks. The salt will pull a lot of juice from the fruit and give the kamias its own brine in which to continue fermenting. Every now and again, swirl the brine through all the kamias, especially those at the top of the bottle that may not be submerged.
- Burong kamias keeps very well stored at room temperature for months.
*The recommended ratio is about 5 percent of sea salt to kamias (by weight). A tablespoon of sea salt is approximately 20 grams. At home, we just eyeball that amount and have not had problems. Burong kamias is completely unfussy and for the most part has worked with whatever amount of salt we put in. I find that it’s better to err on the side of less salt than more because you can add more to the brine a few days later if you prefer. As a guide, for every 5 kamias, start with about half a teaspoon of salt.
Notes:
- Choose ripe kamias. Kamias are ripe when plump with juice and light green in color. Underripe, dark green kamias will have a lot of astringency. Leave those on the tree until they plump up and lighten in color.
- Feel free to change it up, experiment and make it your own. Maybe add a char-grilled siling pansigang a few days into making it once you have enough of the fermented brine? Or some black peppercorns and a laurel leaf? Enjoy!
Grab a copy of Makisawsaw 2: Community Gardens edition for more recipes and tips.
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