Feature
Fermented vegetables are among the oldest ways of keeping food, and they are also some of the easiest projects you can start in a home kitchen. You need vegetables, salt, a clean jar and a little patience. The bacteria do the rest.
How it works
Salt pulls water out of vegetables and creates a brine. Lactic acid bacteria that naturally live on the vegetables thrive in that salty, airless environment, while many other microbes do not. As the bacteria eat the sugars in the vegetables, they produce lactic acid, which gives ferments their tang and helps preserve them.
Start with sauerkraut
- Remove the outer leaves of a green cabbage and set one aside. Core and finely shred the rest.
- Weigh the shredded cabbage and measure out salt equal to two percent of that weight: 20 grams of salt for each kilogram of cabbage.
- Sprinkle the salt over the cabbage and massage it with clean hands for five to ten minutes, until it softens and releases liquid.
- Pack it tightly into a clean jar, pressing down until the brine rises above the cabbage.
- Lay the reserved leaf on top and weigh everything down so it stays submerged. A small jar filled with water or a clean stone works.
- Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature, out of direct sun.
Taste after about a week. Sauerkraut can be ready in one to four weeks, depending on the temperature and how sour you like it. When it tastes right, move it to the fridge, where it keeps for months.
Brine pickles
For vegetables that do not release much liquid on their own, such as carrots, green beans or cauliflower, make a brine instead. Dissolve about 20 to 30 grams of salt in a liter of water, pour it over the vegetables packed in a jar with garlic, dill or chili, and weigh them down below the surface.
Good signs and bad signs
- Good: bubbles, a cloudy brine and a clean, sour smell.
- Harmless: a thin, flat white film on the surface, called kahm yeast. Skim it off and make sure the vegetables are submerged.
- Bad: fuzzy mold in any color, a slimy texture or a rotten smell. If you see any of these, throw the whole batch away and start again.
Keep going
Once sauerkraut feels easy, try kimchi, fermented hot sauce or a jar of mixed vegetables. Keep notes on the salt, the temperature and the number of days, and every new batch will be a little better than the last.
