Kimchi And Fermented Vegetables How To And Why

Thanks. I'll have to try them again. I usually ferment my veggies 4 to 6 weeks. I'll try the green beans for only a couple of weeks next time.

 

Yes, do!

 

I started my no-salt ferments today. I made 5 jars and wanted to make two more of mixed veggies but I ran out of steam. I had to start by emptying the jars of the salt ferments I had going, washing all the jars and all the airlock pieces and lids. That itself took over an hour! Then I finally got to the veggies, washing and cutting all those.

This is what I made today. I just copied the notes I keep, too tired to type it all out again, so it has all the details included. The herbs are all fresh herbs, from 2 to 4 sprigs per jar, except for the dill jars, I put in a handful of dill in those. I topped all the jars with kohlrabi leaves because I had so many.

- cabbage (grated green and red cabbage, grated carrots, thyme, one hot Fresno pepper, 1/2 cup starter liquid) NO SALT ADDED (1-2L)

- cabbage (grated green and red cabbage, grated carrots, tarragon, one hot Fresno pepper, 1/2 cup starter liquid) NO SALT ADDED (1-2L)

- hot peppers (long red sweet peppers, 5 habanero peppers, thyme, 1/2 cup starter liquid) NO SALT ADDED (1-2L)




- dill pickles (mini cukes-cut off tips, mustard seed, black peppercorns, whole cloves, Ceylon cinnamon stick, coriander, bay leaf, garlic and dill, 1/2 cup starter liquid) NO SALT ADDED (1-2L)

- dill kohlrabi (mustard seed, black peppercorns, whole cloves, Ceylon cinnamon stick, coriander, bay leaf, garlic and dill, 1/2 cup starter liquid) NO SALT ADDED (1-2L)




The mixed veggies (kohlrabi, chioggia beets, golden beets) I'll make tomorrow.

 

Wow!!!
That puts my latest to shame. I did 4 quart jars with dry herbs. I only put in something like 1/4 teaspoon each of mustard seed, dill seed, ginger powder, and an unknown amount of crushed hot peppers.

The only salt added is from the little bit of starter culture from previous batches.

It's tough following Lucy's post, but I'll post one pic then hide in shame.

 

lol Don't hide! It's not a contest. Besides, I always drool over your fermented veggies, especially since you elaborate on the contents and procedures.

Ha, "unknown amount of crushed hot peppers". Lid fell off, eh? :-D I did that with paprika the other day. For some unexplained reason (I'm blaming it on my plague-induced addled mind) I unscrewed the top instead of lifting the flip top for the shaker, then proceeding to shake with abandon. I scraped off as much of the glob as I could but it was definitely a more flavourful meal.

You neglected to mention what veggie is in the jar. Unless I'm missing it, which in my state is a complete possibility.

I wasn't up to making the mixed veggies today, maybe tomorrow. The jars I made yesterday already have bubbles in it! I was thrilled. The cold room is pretty frigid even with the heat on, so I thought the fermenting might not start quickly enough, I was worried about the bad microbes taking hold without the salt. But I guess the starter liquid is working.

 

Oh yeah, I did forget to mention which veggies. I used kohlrabi and rutabaga. I really love the kohlrabi as a snack. This is a first with rutabaga for me.

I'm going to try to make traditional kimchi, but with less salt. I can't get enough kimchi.

 

Did you mix the kohlrabi and rutabaga in the one jar? I'm wondering if the kohlrabi, which is a lot milder tasting than rutabaga will pick up the bitterness of the rutabaga. You'll have to let us know. I've only mixed kohlrabi with striped and golden beets which are pretty mild as well.

I can't wait to hear how the saltless kimchi works out. I'll have to try that eventually, when I have more room in the fridge.

I think I forgot to mention that the saltless cabbage (with only the starter liquid) is a lot tangier than the salt ferments. I've read that saltless ferments tend to have a lemony taste and I find that's about right with the cabbage I made. It's different, but still good.

 

That sounds good.

I've got a small head of cabbage that I'm going to get in jars tonight.

 

I mixed them together in three jars. One jar has kohlrabi only.
I'll taste test sometime this week and post my review:-D

If the rutabaga is too strong, I'll go back with turnips and kohlrabi.

 

I finally got to the rest of my fermenting. The vegetables I bought were exactly enough for the two jars. That doesn't happen often.

I used kohlrabi, Chioggia beets and golden beets. In one jar I used rosemary and thyme, and in the second basil and thyme. No salt, and ½ cup in each jar of starter liquid from another batch.

I now have a nice stash going in the cold room, seven 2-litre jars.

 

Tap, tap, tap...

 

Oops, I forgot to post my findings

I tasted one piece of kohlrabi, and found it ok, but like you predicted, Lucy, it was a little bitter. It was ok though. I'll let it all continue fermenting for a bit, and try again. I think it will be ok, but I'm going back to kohlrabi and turnips, or some other veggie that isn't so bitter to mix with my kohlrabi.

 

You really have to try making it with striped (Chioggia) and golden beets (not regular beets, the striped and golden are milder). They really compliment each other well.

 

I put the dill cukes in the fridge yesterday. This is the first no salt cukes I've made. It desperately needs something more. It tastes very bland, even with the spices and dill. Or, it may be that it wasn't on the shelf long enough. I usually only keep them on the shelf for a week, and these I left for a week and a half, but it was so cold the last couple of weeks, I don't think it fermented much. I left the dill kohlrabi on the shelf, I'll let it sit for another couple of weeks. Hopefully the cukes will pick up more flavour sitting in the fridge. It's hard to gauge it in the cold temps. Another reason to hate winter. (mumble grumble…)

 

I was looking for those beets for a while, then I forgot about them. I will remember one of these days!

 

My kohlrabi/rutabaga ferments came to a screeching halt. The bubbles stopped a couple of days after my taste test. I thought it was just because I moved them to a cooler spot, but they are at room temperature now, and no signs of life.

 

Tie a string around your finger. Then you'll walk around trying to remember what the string is for. :-D

 

But that's what it's supposed to do when you leave it longer. Lots of bubbling at first, then it clouds up, then it starts clearing up and just sits there. But it's still working away. That's when you get the different bacteria strains. I'll try find the article where it explains it.

 

Hey!...Now I realize why I have all of the strings tied around my fingers.

I definitely need to write beets down on a grocery list.
I might just have to grow some this summer

 

Oh, then it's good! It just seemed like my other ferments bubbled longer. I will do another taste test in the morning. I need to hit the sack soon for an early day tomorrow, or I would taste tonight.