How about a fermented veggies thread? - Page 5

[CluckyInAZ]

I started some pickled garlic last week, but I think it may be going off and I want to know if there is anything I can do to save it.

I don't know if I put enough salt in it to start with. It is water garlic, dried thai peppers and salt in there. The liquid isn't clear, it is kinda cloudy and some of the garlic turned green.

I was thinking about putting more salt in it and maybe some of the juice from the kimchi I bought at a store. Do you think that would maybe save it?

help!

[missi66]

Ohhh!! Some of the garlic in my pickles turned green too. It didn't look like it went bad so I decided it absorbed some of the green from the cukes. Why is it doing this? Hmmm....anyone know?

[Hibou]

If the garlic turns greenish, it's still fine. It's just a natural chemical in the garlic reacting with the brine. I can look it up for a better description if necessary. My brined garlic went a little cloudy too, but it tastes fine. If it smells really bad, then it's probably bad. Otherwise, it's probably fine.

[CluckyInAZ]

thanks I think it is still good so far. I would have been really sad if I had to throw all that garlic away!

[JaneS]

I love fermenting... the roasted red peppers and cucumber pickles (I slice them) are a favorite. I get incredible kimchi from a Korean grandmother, so I've never attempted that... she puts scallions in it, so yummy. I'm ordering a half gallon of sauerkraut thru my co-op, my first batch didn't turn out well and I'm scared of it

The NT ketchup was way too fishy for my taste following the recipe, I use a tiny bit or just leave it out now.

The mayo was very successful, after a week or two in the fridge, it's so firm, like pudding.

The Orangina is pretty good but I didn't notice "an interesting banana like flavor" as Sally said.

I use whey drained from yogurt most of the time to cut down on wild yeasts or "the slimies".

[Village Mama]

MMMMM I love kimchee!!!!!! I am seriously addicted! I made my first batch last month and ate it all in about 3 days. It did smell extremely strong though ( we had guests over and it became the running joke of the weekend!) I would love to have a nice crock to make it in!
Just a note about covering your ferments ... I put a very clean zipper baggie into the mouth of the jar and fill it with water until the level of the brine is completely overtp of the veggies. then I cover the top of the jar with a clean dishcloth and an elastic band... works for me!

[memory maker]

I thought this was interesting. I picked up info on moon sign dates and they have the best dates to make kraut on. Here is what it says for central standard time zone
may 20, 21
june 16.17
july 13,14,22,23
aug 10, 11, 18, 19
sept 14-16
oct 12, 13
nov 8,9,18,19
dec 6,7,15,16

My grandma swears by using the moon sign dates for planting and for weaning animals (which is why I got it to try and wean my 3 yr old) You can get them at earl may if you live in another time zone.

[Hibou]

Originally Posted by memory maker

I thought this was interesting. I picked up info on moon sign dates and they have the best dates to make kraut on. Here is what it says for central standard time zone
may 20, 21
june 16.17
july 13,14,22,23
aug 10, 11, 18, 19
sept 14-16
oct 12, 13
nov 8,9,18,19
dec 6,7,15,16

Wow! lol this could take fermenting to a whole new level!

[Peri Patetic]

That's pretty interesting about the moon and kraut! It reminds me that there's a woman on an NT list I'm on and she says she can't get her butter to churn properly when she has her period.

[auntieM]

Kimchi question:

I started my kimchi a couple of days ago. Made it, had about an inch between the goods & the lid, let it sit. Apparently, it wasn't enough room & the kimchi has expanded. Yesterday, I squished it down & took some of the veggies out to make more room in the jar. Today, it had expanded more. I took of the lid, noticed the veggies on the very top didn't look as good (carrot had sort of bleached??). I skimmed off the top veggies & have added smaller jars filled with water to weigh down the veggies. Does this sound unreasonable to anyone?

[Hibou]

This sounds good. The veggies really do need to be either weighted or squashed down daily. If the ones on top get a little funky looking, just skim them off and keep fermenting.

[auntieM]

Thanks, Hibou! For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't be messing with it, but it sounds like it does need some gentle nudging to keep it on the right track.

[EBG]

[QUOTE=artisticat]You can always let the ketchup sit in the fridge for a while. Same with beet kvass. When I made the beet kvass I didn't like it at all, but then let it sit for maybe a couple months (just couldn't get myself to try it again). Then I tried it a couple weeks ago and I am so addicted. I couldn't get enough. It was so yummy. A little strong beet flavor, but I sucked it down during every meal!! So keep trying it and it may develop better flavors. I think that is how any ferment works.

I've tried the kimchi last summer adn didn't like it. Sitll in fridge I am not sure what I did wrong. I eat boughten kimchi and love it. Anyone have an exact recipe they follow? MAybe I didn't put enough spice in it. Or mabye cause I used regular cabbage?

I have a new beet kvass brewing so will let you all know if it's just an acquired taste or if time in fridge really helps it.


I posted a beet kvass question as a separate thread and nobody responded.You seem to have experience with this, hope you can help...
I made beet kvass in two jars. I fermented it for about 3 days.
One is still purplish, the other has turned brownish and the veggies look moldy and there is some white mold-like stuff floating on the top. The puple one has a few bubbles on the top but not mold. Which one sounds OK? I'm afraid the brown liquid is bad-maybe didn't wash the jar well enough?
I'd like to know how it's supposed to look and smell before I try it. Thanks!

[artisticat]

Mine always smells like beets!! Not sure about the brown one. Could be it was contaminated. Does it smell different and yucky? Sometimes mold (scum) on top is ok and you can just skim it off. After that shake it up and see if maybe the "color" is all at the bottom. But if the beets are moldy (are they at the bottom or floating?) then maybe just toss and try again. If floating you could skim yucky ones out too then shake and see what it looks like. Sometimes i think mine is a little brownish but then when I shake it distributes the color.

My last batch was pretty salty, but not unpleasant for me. Really thick too. I've found now that I've been drinnking it I crave it and love it and could drink tons. When I first started I thought it was disgusting and choked down a shotglass full followed by a chaser. Now I could drink way more than 8 ounces at a time. I've put it in soups too for a slight sour taste.

[EBG]

Originally Posted by artisticat

Mine always smells like beets!! Not sure about the brown one. Could be it was contaminated. Does it smell different and yucky? Sometimes mold (scum) on top is ok and you can just skim it off. After that shake it up and see if maybe the "color" is all at the bottom. But if the beets are moldy (are they at the bottom or floating?) then maybe just toss and try again. If floating you could skim yucky ones out too then shake and see what it looks like. Sometimes i think mine is a little brownish but then when I shake it distributes the color.

My last batch was pretty salty, but not unpleasant for me. Really thick too. I've found now that I've been drinnking it I crave it and love it and could drink tons. When I first started I thought it was disgusting and choked down a shotglass full followed by a chaser. Now I could drink way more than 8 ounces at a time. I've put it in soups too for a slight sour taste.

After shaking it turned purple, the color is on the bottom half. haven't opened it yet, I'm a chicken. maybe tomorrow so I can smell it. The other one looks like there's not much going on, I think I put too little whey in it that's why it just looks like beet juice.
About the moldy one-so I just scoop the mold out and the kvass is still OK? The beets are still on the bottom, some of them are trying to float but only a little.

[artisticat]

If it is just white scum on top I personally just try and skim it out. Then shake and hope the rest is taken care of by the fermented juice. I mean with saurkraut that is what you do. If it smells way different than the other batch then maybe just throw it out. but I would personally drink it if it smelled like the other one and you were able to basically get most of the moldy parts out (assuming it really is just scum mold)

HTH

Stacy

[Hibou]

EBG, RE kimchi- I dion't think that using regular cabbage would give it the right flavor. Regular cabbage is quite strong when fermented (think sauerkraut). Asian cabbage like bok choy and suey choy (my favorite) are milder and allow the other flavors to come through more distinctively. Of course I've never tried making kimchi with regular cabbage, this is just my guess.

[artisticat]

Huh. Maybe that is why my kimchi never tasted right. I could never find organic bok choy or other chineses cabbage so just used regular. My kimchi has been in the fridge since last fall and I am scared to try it again

[tinuviel_k]

Does anyne have a really tasty pickled beets recipe? If so, could you share? I have tried the NT recip, and it is ok, but not my favorite.

[sparkeze]

You can make kimchi with regular cabbage, actually there are some restaurants that serve it. When Koreans first started moving to the States different cabbages were not as available so they used regular cabbage. In fact, there are hundreds of different kinds of kimchi. My personal favorites are cucumber kimchi and radish kimchi.

Also, if you have really old cabbage kimchi that's starting to get moldy, just toss the actual mold then fry it in some oil for about 5 minutes or so. Or you can make soup with it, boil some water, then add kimchi, tofu, and bean sprouts (or whatever you have on hand) and voila! Or make kimchi pancakes-rinse and squeeze out water from cabbage kimchi, then mix with flour, water and an egg. Another frequent recipe-kimchi fried rice

We always have huge jars of kimchi and don't eat it fast enough before it starts to go bad so I've gotten really good at cooking with it!