I decided to go nuts at the Farmer's Market this week and buy loads of veggies to turn into lacto-fermented yumminess. It is amazing the amount of veggies you can pack into a jar once they've been salted a bit. So I spent the afternoon grated, chopping, peeling and smashing all that produce and they are now happily resting on the kitchen counter, busily fermenting their little hearts out......
LACTO-FERMENTED CARROTS
(adapted from "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin)
These carrots taste great in salads, with eggs, and on sandwiches.
4 cups grated organic carrots, loosely packed
3 tsp sea salt
Method: In a bowl, mix the carrots and salt together. Place in a Mason jar and press down with a wooden pounder. There should be about an inch of space between the top of the carrots and the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about 2-3 days before transferring to cold storage.
SAUERKRAUT
Makes a half-gallon jar
3 1/2 pounds organic cabbage
1 tablespoon sea salt
You can add optional ingredients from the following list: 1 tsp caraway seed, peeled sliced garlic; washed, cored and sliced apples; peeled onions cut into eighths; dill seed; juniper berries; or other spices.
Wash cabbage and cut into thin shreds, with a kraut cutter, mandoline, food processor, or by hand with a knife. Mix cabbage shreds with the salt in a large bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Then press the cabbage with your fist or a wooden stamper until the juice is flowing well. It is important to crush the vegetables enough to create the juice.
Pack the juicy shreds into your jar in layers, interspersing the caraway and any other ingredients you are using. Pack tightly enough that all the air is pressed out. You should leave about two inches of space below the lid. If you don’t have enough, you can add a little brine: 1 tsp salt to one pint water. Put the lid on and screw down, but not really tight. Put the jar on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark corner of your kitchen for one week. Then put in a cold place for another four weeks to mellow. Sauerkraut keeps many months under proper storage conditions (provided you keep out of it that long).
Untraditional KIMCHEE
Makes a half-gallon jar
1 ½ pounds organic Napa cabbage
1 pound organic daikon radish
3 tablespoons sea salt
1 ½ tablespoons peeled and sliced organic garlic
6 organic scallions trimmed and sliced or ½ cup trimmed sliced leek
2 tablespoons peeled and grated organic ginger
1-3 tablespoon fine quality medium Korean hot chile powder
1 teaspoon organic sugar
Wash Napa cabbage and cut in half lengthwise. Cut out the core, chop the rest in approximate 1.5” squares. Peel daikon and slice ¼” thick. In a large nonreactive bowl, mix 6 cups water and 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons salt. Then put in the radish and Napa, dunking them in the water. Let stand 8-12 hours, dunking occasionally.
At the end of this period, prepare the rest of the spices along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon sugar into a mixing bowl (a second bowl). Scoop the vegetables out of the brine into the bowl with the spices, mix well. Reserve the brine.
Pack the vegetables reasonably tightly into your jar. Be sure to pour in any liquid left in the bottom of your mixing bowl. Then fill the jar up to the neck with the reserved brine. Cover jar loosely, put on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark place. Kimchee takes from five to nine days to ferment, depending on the ambient temperature. At five days, start tasting the brine with a clean spoon. When it is sour enough to your taste, your kimchee is done. Cap tightly and keep in a cold place. It is ready to use at once, and will keep many months under refrigeration (or buried out in your yard if you live in Korea).
