Worldwide Beekeeping

Sustainable Living => Preserving Food => Topic started by: The15thMember on October 21, 2022, 06:52:07 pm

Title: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on October 21, 2022, 06:52:07 pm
I made some homemade sauerkraut for the first time today.  I've done fermented honey garlic before, but this is the first vegetable ferment I have done.  Anyone else doing any fermenting?
(https://i.ibb.co/0J1BJmY/Kraut-096.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0J1BJmY)
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: iddee on October 21, 2022, 08:30:53 pm
I haven't lately, but I made 5 gallons of kraut in a 6 gallon croc every year for several years. Start tasting it on day 3. Then taste every day until desired strength is acquired. 7 days should be about max, depending on temps.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on October 28, 2022, 08:15:51 pm
We ate some kraut for the first time tonight with our meal.  It's not quite there yet, but it went with our meal tonight so we had some anyway.  It was GOOD.  I'm sure it'll be even better when it gets a little more sour, as it was still quite mild today.

(https://i.ibb.co/hW6FyTD/First-Kraut-Meal-061-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hW6FyTD)
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: Bakersdozen on October 29, 2022, 07:26:08 am
I've not made kraut before, but I have made Kimchi.  I got it too hot for me to eat, but the kids liked it.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: Jen on October 29, 2022, 11:54:15 am
My daughter is the fermenter in the fam. She loves the honey garlic and makes her own kimchi amongst other things. Fermented foods are not my favorite food, but in recent months I have found that fermentated foods sure can help my later in life cranky digestion. Been putting some store bought kraut on my breakfast and dinner plate, and do believe there is some relief in the gut.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on November 05, 2022, 12:47:40 pm
I had a little trouble with my kraut this week.  I noticed that some of it wasn't under the brine anymore and was turning brown.  I'd had some brine spill out, and I guess I should have replaced it.  I also probably should have had a heavier weight in the top than I did.  I salvaged what was still good, and I've got an extra head of red cabbage in the fridge, so I'm going to make some more today.
(https://i.ibb.co/8gNJ4xm/Kraut-Revamp-060.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8gNJ4xm)
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on November 05, 2022, 06:26:31 pm
I used the food processor today, and it went a lot better for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it was obviously faster; secondly, the increased surface area helped the cabbage to sweat quicker when I salted it; and thirdly, it was a lot easier to massage and pack it with my weak hands when the pieces were smaller.  I don't have any real weights yet, and I haven't been down to the river to get a rock, so I'm using a plastic bag filled with water as a weight.  Also, as you can see, the cabbage ended up being a green one, not a red one.  :)

(https://i.ibb.co/CtwJtM1/Kraut-2-0-079.jpg) (https://ibb.co/CtwJtM1)
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: Bakersdozen on November 06, 2022, 10:39:34 am
I had a little trouble with my kraut this week.  I noticed that some of it wasn't under the brine anymore and was turning brown.  I'd had some brine spill out, and I guess I should have replaced it.  I also probably should have had a heavier weight in the top than I did.  I salvaged what was still good, and I've got an extra head of red cabbage in the fridge, so I'm going to make some more today.
(https://i.ibb.co/8gNJ4xm/Kraut-Revamp-060.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8gNJ4xm)

The best lessons learned can come from mistakes.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: Jen on November 06, 2022, 02:41:16 pm
My daughter is now going to make a batch of cranberry kraut. She ferments a lot of stuff including a lemon ginger ferment that I really like, calm down my cranky gut. She will use dried cranberries.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on November 06, 2022, 05:29:04 pm
My daughter is now going to make a batch of cranberry kraut. She ferments a lot of stuff including a lemon ginger ferment that I really like, calm down my cranky gut. She will use dried cranberries.
That sounds delicious.  I've heard that fermented ginger is really tasty. 
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on November 09, 2022, 01:22:01 pm
I tasted both rounds of kraut yesterday.  The original batch, in spite of looking nice, still tastes a little alcoholic from the yeasts getting into it, so I just tossed it in the compost.  The green kraut has started to bubble nicely and is starting to taste and smell sour already.  I did notice that my baggie weight was leaking a little bit (because the lesson of this whole experience is apparently "things that work for other people don't work for me" ;) :D ), so I filled the bag with marbles instead, which seems to be working well.
Title: Re: Fermenting
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2023, 12:46:00 pm
I figured I'd get this thread going again, since I've been doing a lot of fermenting lately.  We got a set of mason tops, so no more messing around with bags of marbles and such.  I've done several rounds of kraut and it's becoming a staple in the fridge.  Just yesterday I made up a beautiful batch of kraut from a beautiful deep purple cabbage. 

I also fermented some onions and they are great on sandwiches, salads, or burgers.  I've also had good reviews on fermented carrots.  I've done some plain, and the last batch I did with garlic and some herbs, and both the carrots and the garlic are great to snack on.  I'm planning on doing more onions and carrots sometime this week, so I'll post some pictures when I do.
(https://i.ibb.co/F739P73/Today-s-the-Day-001.jpg) (https://ibb.co/F739P73)