What are you fermenting today?

[Holachicka]

Well, Here are my first contributions...

My personal favorite use for saurkraut is my grandmothers recipe for haulupture(sp) cook up some bacon and some rice (I find that 4 slices of thick cut bacon works for 1.5 cups of dry rice) Take the bacon out of the pan to chop, leave the grease... Add the cooked rice and then the chopped bacon, add as much saurkraut as you like and TA-DA!! haulipture, my fave... I'll eat it for breakfast, dinner or lunch!

So, I know one Korean condiment is diakon radishes (not mushy) covered in chili paste (fermented diced hot and sweet chilis...) MMMM!!! Not sure if the radishes are fermented though...

Another is fermented Kale, not hot at all, just fermented with salt and water...

 

[Henrietta23]

Marking my place for reading tonight. I am making salsa this week!!

 

[Holachicka]

Ok all you experts... I have a few questions that I hope you're willing to answer!!

I have finely diced hot peppers fermenting as well as sliced cucumbers in a dill garlic pepper brine... for one day now... the pickles look great, I skimmed the thick bubbles off the top and they look and seem fine, but what should I expect from the peppers? They are a lot more smelly. They are in a large bowl, covered in cheese cloth and a plate to weigh them down. Yeasterday they smelled great, like fresh salsa, but today they smell... I don't even know how to describe it... a little sour? what should I expect? Thanks in advance... I am a worrier...

 

[freemotion]

Most condiments were fermented in the past. Now they are made with vinegar. So the sour smell, if it is pleasant, is correct, as that is the flavor that we want...sort of a vinegar sour, but not vinegar. Make sense? It will get more sour as time goes on.

I'd stick with jars rather than a bowl if possible, as you want as little contact with air as possible.



I need to get some mustard made....we are almost out. We are out of ketchup, but I want to wait until we have our own tomatoes this year.

 

[Holachicka]

So I put all the peppers into 3 quart jars, covered with grape leaves to keep the peppers under the brine...

I made two zucchini foccocia breads, one for us the other for our neighbors... We already went through half of one of the jars!!! Just couldn't help it and dug right in, went GREAT on top of the bread, and had just the right amount of heat to be enjoyable. Like salsa, just no tomatoes! fantastic dinner!

Lucky me, I found VERY fresh cabbage on sale for 3 lbs for $1, sauerkraut, Here I come!

 

[freemotion]

Told ya so!

 

[KnittyGritty]

I'm fermenting bean paste from the NT book. I started it yesterday and tomorrow will be day 3, when I'm supposed to refrigerate it. I'm confused because it's just sitting there, not "growing" like I thought it was supposed to. It does have a pickled smell to it. Do you think it's all right?

 

[freemotion]

Rejoice that it did not take over your kitchen, as my first batch did. Your kitchen is probably a nice temperature in the 70's range, right? Perfect for fermenting?

If it smells right, it is right, IMO. The nose knows!

 

[Holachicka]

Told ya so!

So happy you did!! dh liked it, but then I tried to explain the benifits of fermented foods, and after that I noticed he scraped the peppers (I call it salsa) that he "loved" to the side... ONLY after I explained how good it was for him...

I'll have to be more sneaky next time...




By the way, what is everyones favorite sauerkraut recipe? I'm going to add some kale to my cabbage because I love Kale, and I want to make it as simple as possible, I've read 3 tbs of salt for 5 lbs of cabbag, then pound it all togeather so it's packed in tight, then cover with a weight to keep submerged, if not enough fluid add brine...

Is this a good one or does anyone have something else?

 

[KnittyGritty]

Freemotion, since I'd read about your "growing blob," that's why I thought it was supposed to expand. It's been pretty hot here, mid to high 90's outside, so my kitchen is probably warmer than normal. I guess I'll just stick it in the fridge tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully when we eat it next week, it'll taste great. Thanks for the encouragement!