Store cured ferments in the refrigerator. During fermentation, put the jars where the temperature is a constant 55 to 75 F. Rinse vegetables in cool water without soap. Clean all work surfaces, tools and your hands with warm soapy water. Lacto Fermentation is an age-old safe process, but it’s wise to follow basic kitchen practices: Follow your nose, eyes and common sense. When the ferment is under brine, it lacks oxygen, so keep veggies well under the brine. The good bacteria in the kraut don’t need oxygen, but many of the bad guys do. Remember this simple phrase to keep your ferments safe to eat. Best of all, they have delicious recipes for all kinds of vegetables from asparagus to zucchini. They explain the art and science of kraut, brined pickles and kimchi. “Fermented Vegetables” by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey is a fabulous reference book for recipes and techniques. A kitchen project is a tiny staycation, and an island of sanctuary amid rapidly moving time. Red cabbages are gorgeous inside, and winter carrots are sweet. I’m attempting to not exhaust myself, and instead enjoy the process. Begin Small and Stay Smallĭo you need five gallons of kraut, or would a couple of quarts suffice? This is the hardest lesson to learn! I have kitchen bigitus and always overdo. Get into food science, be a nerd and love it. All of your factoids will mull about and come in handy when you’re in the kitchen solving problems. Creativity thrives on book knowledge and hands-on experiences. It’s Okay to Play and Take Creative Risksīut, do your research. New techniques are intimidating, so ease in and get comfortable by gathering what’s needed ahead, reading through the recipe and visualizing the process. I’m not fond of rutabagas and souring them did not help, but the parsnips, beets and carrots were delicious. Once, a few years ago, I made four separate root krauts - beets, parsnips, rutabagas and carrots. My pantry and fridge are laboratories of concoctions in varying stages. It’s not quite gardening season, and messing about with kitchen science is fun. Late Winter is a wonderful time to make small batches of all kinds of pickles, kimchi and krauts. It’s a win-win and humans have eaten lacto fermented foods since at least 6000 A.D. The resulting kraut is delicious and good for our microbiome. They go wild, eating the natural sugars in the produce and creating a pH between 4.2 to 4.5, which is the perfect sourness for our taste buds. In this environment, the lactic acid loving microorganisms already on the veggies proliferate. The process goes like this - we salt vegetables for 3 to 14 days between 55 to 68 F. Sauerkraut requires nothing more than vegetables, salt and a container. It’s a cabbage kraut that’s crunchy, sour and a delicious accompaniment to any Mexican meal. Recently, as a weekend project, I made a batch of Curtido.
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