Kimchi And Fermented Vegetables How To And Why

I won't be able to slow down the fermenting in my jars, unless I put them in the fridge, until Winter. They do work up fast because my room is more like 75F - 80F in Summer.

 

What makes it kraut, other than the grating? I was pondering this question and it finally came to me...

Caraway!

Thats what I associate with traditional kraut.

Then you cook it with sausage and eat it with rye bread, yum!
Kinda kills the bacteria when you cook it with the sausage, but totally worth it.

 

My granddaughters loved the carrots! We call them "carrot pickles", and they wanted me to bring a whole 2 qt. jar of them to their softball tournament today. Sadly, I didn't get to go today but I'm going to make them lots of these.

 

Happened across this fermented salsa recipe while doing something else. http://deliciouslyorganic.net/fermented-salsa-recipe/

 

I'll have lots of extra green beans from this year's garden and a few zucchini's. Ferment the green beans by themselves?

For the zucchini jars, cut them like I would a pickle spear and leave them unpeeled? Frozen zucchini ends up mush when you thaw it out. Would fermenting it allow me to store some that is still a bit crisp?

The asparagus season is long over and I love pickled asparagus that I get at the store, but they're expensive as hell. Can I pickle asparagus myself using the methods you guys are talking about for next year's spring harvest? The ones I buy from the store are very crisp. How can I do this?

Last question. The only fermenting I've ever done is ACV. It stores almost indefinitely in a cold pack method (not pressure cooker). No refrigeration is needed. The new things that I want to do... will they have to be stored in the refrigerator permanently?

Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. I'm trying to make friends with my kitchen. It hasn't really ever been my room.

 

I'm a beginner but I know some things. Never use water with chlorine. Buy bottled water. The salt should not be iodonized. Use sea salt.

You don't have to refrigerate if you have a cold room or root cellar. Refrigeration slows down, almost halts, fermentation which you want to do at some point. I go buy taste test. I think fermenting for too long will spoil the food. Am I correct guys?

You have to burp the jars daily during the fermentation, or leave the lids loose so they can leak into a tray or something. The air-lock lids prevent all that; right guys?

The salt:water ratio needs to be 1 - 3 Tablespoons per Quart of non-chlorine water.

The top inch of the jars need to be empty for breathing room. You must keep the vegetables completely submerged in the brine by weighting them down with small jars or cabbage leaves, or baggies...

My green beans are finishing their fermenting in the refrigerator. I only put garlic in with mine.

I just read that putting some grape leaves in with cucumbers will keep them more crisp because of the tannic acid.

This website has some good stuff http://www.culturesforhealth.com/basic-formula-fermenting-any-vegetable

 

Grape leaves! Great tip, Aerianne! We have tons of wild grapes growing here. We're on well water, so chlorine isn't an issue.

And thanks for the link! (I'd like your post but I'm outta 'likes' for the day.. bother)

 

These have been my experiences:

Green beans are porous so soak up the brine and any seasonings a lot quicker. I would ferment them less than other vegetables, and put in less seasonings you might use (garlic, herbs, etc)

Zucchini gets softer quicker than other veggies, so slice them thick. I haven't done spears so not sure how that would work out. I do put zucchini with other veggies. Slicing them thick keeps them crisper longer. And yes, leave the skin on.

I've fermented asparagus for the first time so can't comment on it yet (it's still fermenting). I suspect they might get soft quicker than other vegetables. I'll report back on that when I open the jar.

In answer to Aerianne's questions:

Yes, with airlocks you don't have to burp jars, the gasses are let out of the airlocks, while they keep the oxygen out. It shouldn't overflow. If it does, it means the contents were packed too high up or the weights aren't keeping the contents under the brine and they've floated up into the airlock (if the contents creep into the airlock, they'll overflow because the gasses can't get out the airlock). Hence the rule to leave about an inch of space at the top of the jar.

Fermenting too long won't spoil the food (as long as the veggies stay under brine) as much as possibly make it too sour for your taste and the veggies too soft. And that applies to fermenting in warm temperatures. Fermenting longer in cool temperatures is actually better, you'll get more probiotics in the jar.

In addition to grape leaves, you can use oak leaves, cherry leaves, horseradish leaves. Probably others, but those are leaves I know of. I've also learned that even if you use leaves, if the cukes aren't fresh and crisp to begin with, they will turn soft and mushy.

Hope this helps!

 

I have a bazillion oaks leaves. I may try them with some cukes while I still have green leaves.

 

I don't even think it's the grating, because a lot of people just chop the cabbage, albeit to a finer texture. I think it's the pounding or massaging in salt and submerging it in its own juices that makes it sauerkraut. And fermenting it for several weeks, even months apparently. I only filled the one jar, my little experiment. I'll let it go pretty long to see what happens.

 

Kraut Hammer... Krauthammer
lol

 

I was so afraid of making my green beans too salty, that I actually added salt when I ate them, lol.

They were yummy.

 

Here's a tip, try adding some fish sauce instead of the extra salt. Fish sauce is plenty salty, and adds a fantastic 'umami' flavor.

 

You know me. I won't even eat clam chowder. I ain't adding no fish nothin' to my veggies!

 

LOL

 

No clam chowder?? (feels Aeri's forehead)

Just so you know, the salt is not only for flavour. It stops the bad bacteria from forming until the veggies start fermenting, then the process takes care of it.

 

I know, but Lucy, didn't you say that you over-salted the brine on some green beans and had to throw them out?

 

I did! Did I scare you? lol If I ferment green beans again, I will put in less salt (and less garlic! it soaked that up pretty good too), but I'll still put some in. You want some salt in the brine to keep the bad bacteria at bay until the fermenting gets going. I just wanted you to be aware of the salt's function beyond flavouring. Some people use whey because it speeds up the fermenting so the bad bacteria doesn't have time to grow, but you tend to get a yeastier taste with whey, so I prefer the salt method. It sounds like your room is warm enough that the fermenting gets going quickly so you're probably safe. A lot of it is trial and error. I've spoiled a few jars in my endeavours. A couple of batches ago I used a new coarser salt and everything was too salty. I make sure to taste the brine now. One time I didn't wash the veggies (plum forgot) and there must have been some nasty bacteria on them and they ended up smelling like decaying flesh. I think I mentioned that batch. So now I always rinse the produce well before jarring. And like you said, you have to watch which veggies you mix in a jar because some turn to mush while remain too hard. Still, it's fun to experiment with it all.

 

I was going to ask you about the batch that went bad. I was thinking it was because you left them out of refrigeration too long but that's not the case?

 

No, that shouldn't be a factor if they're properly done, i.e. the contents under the brine. Fermenting longer doesn't spoil it, it just makes it more sour, and eventually more mellow and actually breeds more good bacteria, as long as it's not too hot in the room. The first batch I threw out, it was very hot in the room (summer heat, and I left it in the kitchen, no a/c), and the contents had popped out of the brine and mold formed on too much of it (I hadn't used any lids then, just a coffee filter with a rubber band around it). The other batch that smelled like decaying flesh was because I didn't wash the veggies. That time I used regular lids, screwed on loosely (I knew I'd forget to burp them and didn't want an explosion). I've had better luck using the cool room and especially using the airlocks. Airlocks for airheads!