Fermenting Vegetables
Just recently got into this and so very glad I did. Boy is it simple to do and the results are so tasty and nutritious !
I bought 6 kilner jars with special Sterilock lids (see below)
Over the past 6 weeks or so I've made 4-5 jars of really yummy Saurkraut.
You wouldn't believe how simple this is. Just shredded up a whole white cabbage using a mandolin. Sprinkled sea salt over it, added some shredded fennel and a bit of ginger and just packed it into these jars. The salt brings out the juices in the cabbage and it just sits there fermenting by itself on the kitchen counter for a few weeks (as long as you like really).
The Sterilock lids allow CO2 to escape but do not allow oxygen to get in so there is no danger of any food exposed at the top rotting. It's truly a "fire and forget" set up, so ridiculously easy.
The end result is a wonderfully pungent and flavourful Saurkraut, a little like a pickle with a similar punchy taste but in a different way, not at all vinegary.
This is Lacto-Fermentation so the Saurkraut has masses of good beneficial lacto-bacteria, like bio yoghurts have only 10 times more and of course, no sugar involved.
You can ferment just about anything and it is a superb way to store/preserve vegetables without the need for freezing. The longer the vegetables are left fermenting on the counter the more punchy tasting they become. When they are as punchy as you want them you just transfer the jar to the fridge which slows down further fermentation almost to a standstill.
The veg can stay like this in the jar almost indefinitely, for months and months, probably years. Totally natural, totally nutritious, totally delicious.
I now have a Saurkraut on the go with cabbage, spring onions, apple and caraway seeds. I also have some baby plum tomatoes fermenting in a jar with garlic, dill, basil and peppercorns.
The possibilities are endless. I wish I'd known about this earlier in life but of course they don't tend to teach you valuable life lessons at school !