"When pickling vegetables using fermentation, we rely on the naturally occurring lactobacilli that are in the skin of all vegetables," says Phillip Meeker, a chef and food educator at Brightseed. "These bacteria are friendly. And putting the salt in the jar helps to acidulate the carrots, so we won't have to add vinegar."  

Found in fermented foods, lactobacillus is used to treat and prevent diarrhea, to fight digestive problems and to treat skin disorders like eczema and acne. 

"We rely on these bacteria to feed off the carrots producing lactic acid," Meeker says. "It's the same process you would use to ferment yogurt or buttermilk.

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