How about a fermented veggies thread? - Page 15

[pandora665]

Okay, I've finally gotten up the gumption to do LF. That, and I saw Sandor Katz tonight at our local coop. He really makes it seem easy.

So, anyone have a sure-fire, can't fail recipe that doesn't involve whey, b/c I have none? Thanks so much in advance!

Erin (TF newbie)

[nicole.schwartz]

Originally Posted by pandora665

So, anyone have a sure-fire, can't fail recipe that doesn't involve whey, b/c I have none? Thanks so much in advance!

Erin, our family loves ginger carrots.

Grate 3 cups carrots and 1~ tbsp fresh ginger.
Add to a quart mason jar.
Fill jar with filtered water. (The water should cover veggies).
Add 1-2 tbsp sea salt.
Mix.
Smoosh down any floating veggies.

Leave on the counter for 24 hours.
Move to fridge and enjoy!

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by nicole.schwartz

Erin, our family loves ginger carrots.

Grate 3 cups carrots and 1~ tbsp fresh ginger.
Add to a quart mason jar.
Fill jar with filtered water. (The water should cover veggies).
Add 1-2 tbsp sea salt.
Mix.
Smoosh down any floating veggies.

Leave on the counter for 24 hours.
Move to fridge and enjoy!

I have been putting off making fermented veggies but this seems so easy, thank you. I am definitely making this now.

I have some questions:

1) Do you put a lid on the mason jar when it is sitting on the counter for that first 24 hours?

2) That's a big difference, 1 or 2 Tbsp of salt, how do you know where to hit it in that range, or is it just a matter of taste preference? I thought I remembered WuWei saying that it was important to get just the right amount of salt in ferm vegs.

3) For grating the carrots, do you hand grate them? Does using a food processor chop them up too much?

4) Does three cups of carrots mean that volume after being grated or before?

Thank you!!

[AnnieMarie]

I have been searching and searching this thread for the ketchup recipe and can't find it
Please can one of you wonderful ladies post a recipe, i would love to make some as DS2 just loves ketchup and i am trying to avoid cooked tomatoes as they are acidic...

[pandora665]

Originally Posted by momofmine

I have been putting off making fermented veggies but this seems so easy, thank you. I am definitely making this now.

I have some questions:

1) Do you put a lid on the mason jar when it is sitting on the counter for that first 24 hours?

2) That's a big difference, 1 or 2 Tbsp of salt, how do you know where to hit it in that range, or is it just a matter of taste preference? I thought I remembered WuWei saying that it was important to get just the right amount of salt in ferm vegs.

3) For grating the carrots, do you hand grate them? Does using a food processor chop them up too much?

4) Does three cups of carrots mean that volume after being grated or before?

Thank you!!

Okay, I can actually answer a couple of those questions.

Sandor said 1 pound of veggies fills a pint jar, 2 pounds fills a quart jar.

More salt slows the process and makes things crunchier, but you don't want it saltier than you like the flavor of. He recommends tasting it after adding the minimum recommended amount in a recipe.

You can either cover with a normal jar lid or a smaller weighted jar of water and a cheesecloth, but you'll need to vent the pressure once or twice if you use an airtight lid.

Okay, I am smarter after last night. Yay!

Oh, and I'm totally trying this recipe, and any others that are easy like this! I just receive 4 lbs of carrots and a cabbage in my CSA box yesterday - like the TF gods are trying to tell me something.

[tanyalynn]

Speaking of covering, you can also not cover, use cheesecloth and the ring to keep flies and such out. That method requires that you push the veggies under the level of the liquid regularly, usually 1x/day but 2x/day is necessary IME in warm weather (Texas summers, for example). There's a really nice discussion of this earlier in this thread (one of the reasons I love this thread) and Sandor discusses the flexibility as well in Wild Fermentation. I felt a lot better when I realized this is a lot more flexible than I'd assumed after reading NT.

AnnieMarie, people have mixed results with the ketchup recipe. I will try to type it up later today, but many people say you need to at least halve the fish sauce or it's distinctly fishy (unless you like that) and I needed to add a lot of extra water and it was still thick and I didn't find the flavor great. It was also plain to me--there are spices in ketchup, I have no idea what ones, but this recipe doesn't have them. But some folks love the recipe.

Oh, just re-read. The ketchup recipe starts with canned tomato sauce, so it may not be what you are looking for.

Pandora--the NT recipes are good without whey, read the first few pages of this thread, nice discussion of that too, many folks don't double the salt, I don't and we haven't keeled over yet. Some recipes just taste too salty with 2x the salt. We love the kimchee recipe from NT, nice low level of spiciness, it works well for my kids (typical American palate in terms of spiciness/heat level). Do you have NT? And none of Sandor Katz's recipes in Wild Fermentation use whey.

http://www.wildfermentation.com/

http://www.wildfermentation.com/reso...p?page=pickles

This is the pickle section from his book. Seriously tasty. I haven't found grape or oak leaves yet so I cut my pickles into thin circles and I haven't noticed the lack yet. Smaller pieces ferment faster, so keep an eye on them.

[deditus]

Originally Posted by greenmom4

Where -do- you buy grape leaves? Do you have to get them mail order? I don't know that I've ever seen them around here...

Wild grapes grow in most parts of the US and CA. You can also use oak leaves, horseradish leaves, or cherry leaves.

There are some lovely photos of wild grape vines here that may help you identify them:

http://www.all-creatures.org/pica/ftshl-grape.html

[AnnieMarie]

Tanya - Oh gosh, thanks but I wash hoping it would be made from raw ingredients. Does it have any raw tomatoes or only the canned ones? I like the idea of the fish sauce, one could play around with the spices i guess. My 3yo just LOVES tomato sauce and i am trying to make foods I know he will like, as with us limiting foods that could be allergens has him up in arms and not eating much more than rice
I so have to buy that book, it sounds absolutely amazing!!

[momofmine]

pandora, that's so cool you saw him speak! I actually have Wild Fermentation. I need to put it on my bedside table right now and finally get around to reading it!

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by AnnieMarie

Tanya - Oh gosh, thanks but I wash hoping it would be made from raw ingredients. Does it have any raw tomatoes or only the canned ones? I like the idea of the fish sauce, one could play around with the spices i guess. My 3yo just LOVES tomato sauce and i am trying to make foods I know he will like, as with us limiting foods that could be allergens has him up in arms and not eating much more than rice
I so have to buy that book, it sounds absolutely amazing!!

The recipe only calls for tomato sauce, or maybe it's tomato paste, but either way, not raw, and I don't know how to change it to work.

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by Hibou

Has anyone tried culturing veggies with sea vegetables? I wonder how it would be adding dulse or nori to kimchi. Hmmm...

This one is from waaaay back in the thread, but on my way through I didn't see an answer. I just wanted to note that sea veggies in ferments work really well. Several local lf sauerkraut makers have a version of sauerkraut that also has shredded sea veggies in them -the one calls it ocean kraut. I actually think doing so might be a wise idea since as Masterjohn pointed out lf sauerkraut is still a goitergen. I would think the iodine from the sea veggies would be a good offset. I haven't gotten around to using shredded sea veggies yet, but did use the Sea Seasonings from Main Coast Sea Veggies with my sauerkraut. I just sprinkled some between the layers of cabbage and carrots.

We've had pretty good success with the WF recipes. Haven't been able to find a source of grape or oak leaves, though. Our pickles, while not super crispy and also not really slimy are a huge favorite and go fast. We did pickle some green tomatoes last year like Sandor mentioned but they were *terrible*. I have quite a few green beans so I had wondered about fermenting them. I did make some pickled ones using ACV and a recipe out of "Stocking Up", but would rather they be fermented. I guess I'll just have to give them a try.

In "Stocking Up" they mentioned a "dill crock" where you basically layer in lots of different veggies (Sandor mentions something similar in WF) with spices and a brine. It sounds interesting, but I wondered if anyone had tried it.

[Etoile]

If I could find a way to ship them inexpensively I'd send you guys some grape leaves from our garden

Started a new batch of kimchi today, I'm hoping this one comes out better because the last batch a. was way too salty and b. tasted gritty from using the Realsalt. I'm not using it anymore for ferments. With all that effort it is too much of a waste not to enjoy it because of grit.
For some reason, DH doesn't mind grit so he's going to eat the Realsalt. He didn't even mind the potato curry he made one time where he forgot to wash the potatoes, YUCK!

[BerryMac]

Subbing.

I am just learning about fermenting. I have some kommbucha going from a friend's SCOBY, a jar of ginger carrots, a jar of green beans with dill and red pepper flakes, and I have a jar of saurkraut in the fridge.

The saurkraut I didn't pay much attention to, just kept checking it and pushing it down. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to taste like, so I put it into the fridge after about 5 days. Now, I took it out tonight and it doesn't have much flavour! It has onions and carrots and red cabbage. Should I put it back onto the counter? I don't mind leaving it in the fridge and waiting IF it will improve, but I don't want to waste it!

I LOVE: fermenting! Hopefully I love the taste of L-F foods, too <grin>

[vegmom]

Originally Posted by BerryMac

The saurkraut I didn't pay much attention to, just kept checking it and pushing it down. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to taste like, so I put it into the fridge after about 5 days. Now, I took it out tonight and it doesn't have much flavour! It has onions and carrots and red cabbage. Should I put it back onto the counter? I don't mind leaving it in the fridge and waiting IF it will improve, but I don't want to waste it!

Every batch I make is a bit different. If I have a bland tasting batch I would put more salt on it and leave it out for a couple more days. This is also what I do if my kraut smells off.

[vegmom]

I have been fermenting like crazy. I have 3 jars of beet kvass, 2 jars of pickles (It was 3, they are so yummy!), 3 jars of kraut, making kefir water and making 1 liter of yogurt.

I am the only one in the family that will eat this stuff. My eldest will sometimes have an appetite for fermented foods, but otherwise its all me.

Anyone have tips on how to feed LF foods to their family?

[naturemama1]

:marking:: I want to come back to this thread when I have a minute to go back through and pull out all the recipes. So many good ideas!

We've only done kimchi, sauerkraut, salsa, and ginger carrots so far, but I'd like to branch out. My goal is to serve a LF veggie condiment with dinner regularly.

Vegmom, I'd just keep putting tiny servings onto their plates. I have two little ones who like LF veggies and one who doesn't (though she loves conventionally-homemade pickles, so I'm going to try some LF ones and see what happens).

[Pogonia]

Originally Posted by vegmom

I have been fermenting like crazy. I have 3 jars of beet kvass, 2 jars of pickles (It was 3, they are so yummy!), 3 jars of kraut, making kefir water and making 1 liter of yogurt.

I wish I were that motivated to do more things! Do you make your beet kvass with or without whey? I only know the recipe from NT has whey in it and I just don't bother making any.

I love this thread and am hoping to get going on something soon. I did write down the receipe for gingered carrots recently. My problem is affording the raw vegetables. Sounds silly, but our diet just isn't that good anyway due to finances. Like the carrots. If I buy some, I use them for soups, roasting or eating raw. And extra cucumbers to pickle....mmmm, that would be a wonderful thing! It's hard to buy some just to ferment when I don't have anything else to add to dinner.

You guys are so great with all your suggestions and encouragement. :

[velcromom]

Originally Posted by deditus

Wild grapes grow in most parts of the US and CA. You can also use oak leaves, horseradish leaves, or cherry leaves.

There are some lovely photos of wild grape vines here that may help you identify them:

http://www.all-creatures.org/pica/ftshl-grape.html

You may also use strawberry leaves in cucumber pickles. I have found I prefer the taste of my dill pickles when I use strawberry. I use about 15 2" leaves per half gallon. I forgot to put some in once and the pickles were complete mush, really awful. I wonder why some of you have good luck without any source of tannic acid?

Originally Posted by vegmom

Anyone have tips on how to feed LF foods to their family?

If you have yogurt, you can drain it and make "ranch dip" for the kids to eat with raw veggies. It's also good as a spread on sandwiches or wraps.

Sauerkraut is good in sandwiches, too. Dill pickles can be chopped up and mixed into chicken or tuna salad.

I don't grate the carrots for my ginger carrots, the kids like them in sticks. If you like, you can just get some organic baby carrots and use them whole. Rinse them with filtered water before you jar them up though, they have been dipped in something that inhibits bacterial growth.

[pampered_mom]

We're definitely in fermenting season now. We've so far made 2 gallons of pickles ala Sandor Katz. I made a pint of fermented green beans using the SK's pickle recipe. Oh my were they tasty! It's been a bit tough trying to decide whether I want to ferment them or freeze them as french cut green beans.

Interesting about the strawberry leaves - we have oodles of them so I'll have to give that a try on our next batch. We typically start one batch of pickles a week now that the vines are producing. I know it will end up seeming like a LOT, but between dh and the two kiddos we can go through them pretty quickly. Still waiting on the cabbages to get a big enough head and then we'll start with the sauerkraut.

[vegmom]

Originally Posted by Pogonia

I wish I were that motivated to do more things! Do you make your beet kvass with or without whey? I only know the recipe from NT has whey in it and I just don't bother making any.

I love this thread and am hoping to get going on something soon. I did write down the receipe for gingered carrots recently. My problem is affording the raw vegetables. Sounds silly, but our diet just isn't that good anyway due to finances. Like the carrots. If I buy some, I use them for soups, roasting or eating raw. And extra cucumbers to pickle....mmmm, that would be a wonderful thing! It's hard to buy some just to ferment when I don't have anything else to add to dinner.

You guys are so great with all your suggestions and encouragement. :

I do use whey. I use smaller jars for the beet kvass (1 liter) and use only 1tsp of salt and 1/4 cup of whey. It actually tastes good and not too salty. The NT recipe made me gag when I tried it. I make whey on a regular basis, for fermenting porridge and soaking flours for the kids and making ferments. I want to rid myself of systemic candida and cant afford crazy expensive probiotics, so doing it the old fashioned way.

BTW, you can add ferments to your soups, just don't cook them. They are so delish!

Also for cuc's they are normally in huge baskets right now as they are in season and cheap. If not at the grocery store, then try farmers markets.