What are you fermenting today?

[freemotion]

I mostly use my herb mix in salad dressing with vinegar, so the sour taste fits right in. If I use it in a soup or such, there is so little sour in a whole pot of soup, it isn't even noticed. I use apple cider vinegar when I make broth anyways, and it isn't noticable.

 

[BriteChicken]

Here ya go...This is what I just made and just now put in the fermenting fridge in the cellar:

Two quart jar, fill about 3/4 full with small whole cukes or slices.
Add 1.5 Tbsp whole mustard seeds, about the same of dill....I used fresh dill, mostly the flower heads since that is what was ready and the best. 2-3 whole cloves garlic if desired. 1.5 Tbsp Celtic or Redmond Real Salt and about the same of whey. Cover with filtered or well water (not chlorinated.)

Weight the cukes down with a ziploc filled with brine or as I did, a grape leaf and a scrubbed and sanitized rock.

Room temp 3 days, then into the fridge for a few weeks/months.

Okay I don't have whey is there anyway I can make it? And will a Brita filter be a strong enough filter?

I think that's all the questions I have for now. I can't wait to try

 

[freemotion]

You can ferment without the whey, the whey just is added insurance that the right beasties will overwhelm any bad beasties. Most traditional fermenting is just veggies, salt, water, maybe some flavoring herbs. If your house is warmer than low 70's, use more salt to protect it and skim off any mold that forms. If you have a cool cellar, put it there if your kitchen is not climate controlled. Fermentation tends to happen faster at warmer temps, and spoilage happens faster at warmer temps. There is a learning curve, you just have to get started!

Have you read this thread yet? It is becoming a fermenting encyclopedia!

 

[TanksHill]

We ate sauerkraut for dinner last night!!! It was wonderful.. Kids loved it. The flavor did develop a bit more in the fridge. One question though. When I cooked it I basically killed all the good beasties huh? I know it's still better for us than store bought but I am trying to get the beasties in our diet.

ps.. I have black beans soaking too!!!

 

[Javamama]

Question - should the pickle water turn cloudy after a few days? Mine did but everything still smelled fine. Had a little mold on top of one where the dill poked out of the brine and I skimmed it off.

I hope we like these since I have a ton more to do today. My cuke vines are threatening to take over the yard This after not being able to grow them for 3 years.

 

[freemotion]

Yes, you kill the good beasties when you cook it. As you say, though, still better! As you get more comfortable with fermenting and see how easy it is, you will be fermenting more things....and your family will get used to the taste and how they feel better. You can serve a bit of kraut as a pre-dinner condiment when everyone is starving...get some cute little bowls and hand one to everyone before dinner is on the table. Kinda like stealing a cuke out of the salad bowl when no one is looking....make it special.

Cloudy...I don't worry about cloudy. The whey makes it cloudy, and so does the salt, unless you are using canning or pickling salt, which I don't. If you weight down your veggies, you won't get the spoilage of the floaters.

Sniff test first, then taste test. It will be obvious if you shouldn't do the taste test. I scrape mold off and sniff/taste what is underneath all the time and am still here to tell the tale! This was a big change for me, though, don't think I didn't have the same struggles with changing my thinking. Homemade food is soooo much safer.

 

[Wifezilla]

The little bowl of fermented veggies before dinner is a tradition in many cultures. Japan comes to mind.

 

[Javamama]

OK, good. Sounds like my pickles are fine. I forgot that any salt other than canning salt could cause the cloudiness, and I used whey too. I love this method! So easy and doesn't kill the nutrients.

 

[Javamama]

I now have 4 quarts of salsa on the countertop and another gallon of pickles.
I tasted one of my pickled I did a couple weeks ago and not so thrilled with them so far. The dill flavor was weak. I couldn't find heads of dill, only the ferns. I'll let them stew for another month and try again. I know the kids will hate them regardless. We don't eat many pickles anyway.
The skins on my cukes are really thick and tough this year so I don't know if they will be edible even after pickling.

 

[TanksHill]

I picked the rest of my beets from the garden last week.. After roasting and slicing I set them to ferment. They turned out great. I have been eating them for lunch all week. They are getting zingy-er by the day even in the fridge.

Yum!!

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