You can ferment that!

Fermenting your own foods to make sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, or kimchi probably sounds kind of crazy. The type of thing that only a person living in the middle of nowhere or someone who is unemployed would even consider attempting.  I can assure you that nothing is easier.  It will take you less time to make a jar of your own pickles then it would to select a jar from the wall 'o pickles probably available at your supermarket.

From left to right:  Red cabbage sauerkraut, bok choy kimchi, sauerkraut with jalapeno, sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut.  Sauerkraut is just sliced cabbage and salt.  Nothing else.  No water, no vinegar.  Not even any need to sterilize the jars.  You literally sprinkle salt (pickling salt that is without additives) over sliced cabbage, pack it into a jar - any old jar, and let it sit on your counter for a few days.  Voila! Sauerkraut!

Radish, cauliflower, and carrot "pickles"

Garlicky pickles

Ever since a friend of mine turned me onto fermentation, I have been a little obsessed.  Ok, maybe more than just a little.  In the last 6 weeks I've made four batches of kimchi, three types of sauerkraut, two types of pickles, and started the working for sourdough bread and ginger beer.

The basic concept of fermenting vegetables is that in the air around us and on the vegetables we buy there are millions and millions of bacteria.  When you chop of vegetables and put them in a salty solution (without air), you make the environment in the jar friendly for lacto-fermenting bacteria to flourish and other molds, yeasts etc. to be out-competed and to die off.  Lacto-fermenting bacteria gobble up some of the sugars in the vegetables and make lactic acid, the tangy - almost fizzy - vinegar-esque tasting acid that gives pickles and sauerkraut it's unique flavor.

There are no steadfast rules to fermenting vegetables except, chop, salt, pack and wait.

First batch of kimchi.

Besides being a pretty awesome science experiment and a good way to spend a snowy February afternoon, eating fermented foods is also exceptionally good for you.  Ferments have live bacteria in them (the same bacteria you buy in your Probiotic vitamins) and support digestive health and immune function.  Fermented foods are not "cooked" so remain nutrient-rich and the fermentation process actually makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients in the vegetables.  Fermentation can also increase the vitamin contents of some foods , especially vitamin B.  Sandor Katz's Art of Fermentation goes into the health benefits of fermentation in much more detail.

This is also an awesome way to use up food you have in your refrigerator to reduce food waste.  What's in your veggie drawer?  Half a head of cauliflower, one zucchini, a bell pepper, and a carrot?  You can ferment that!    



For some ideas on specific recipes and ways to get started try these links and then experiment on your own!

Sauerkraut:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124

Pickles:
http://www.simplebites.net/make-old-fashioned-brine-fermented-pickles-like-your-great-grandmother

All kinds of tips and recipes.
http://www.wildfermentation.com/

 
Note:  These recipes emphasize weighing down the vegetables to keep them submerged in liquid.  I found that if I pack the jar so it's full or if using brine, fill the liquid to the top, this extra step is not necessary.