I am on this fermenting kick. It's been over a year now that I've been intending on getting into it. I wanted to ferment goat milk in Costa Rica, and even hoped to ferment the bananas into vinegar. For some reason I just thought it was extremely difficult, or too laborious, and instead used the milk for cereal, and bananas for things like pancakes and the Chamorro donuts. I switched up ferment for fried. I'm a different person now. First of all, I'm not pregnant -- which saw me so nauseous a year ago that I was willing to eat anything I could stomach without the acid. Yes, even eggs and cheese.
So there is a big controversy I am seeing online about the proper containers for fermenting. You all know I am all about using what I already have, and when I went to the health food store and saw a starter fermenting kit for $26, it only further justified that I will keep using what I have. Fermenting is a process used not just for making alcohol in the past and now, but for preserving food. We are now seeing (like many other things done in the past we are discovering) it should be done for health purposes, primarily for the probiotics that come of it. The less fortunate around the world still ferment, safely, for food preservation. I'm sure these don't have the luxury of purchasing a $26 starter kit. Just saying!
I remember witnessing kimchee being made as a child...in an extremely huge, open container. So yes, even though typically speaking, oxidation makes things go sour and moldly which logically would tell anyone that you should use an airtight sealed container (or some other fermenting-specific container) to rid oxygen, we also know that the process of fermenting provides a preservation/protection for the thing being fermented, as the lactic acid forms when the produce's suface bacteria is coupled in a brine to ferment the produce's sugars. From the fermenting guros Google-wide I've read that as it really does not matter about the container so much as the ferment is sitting under the brine. If you can count on this good bacteria in the brine to fight off the bad inside of your body, then it can do it in a container outside of the body before it gets there.
I didn't even go as far as using a mason jar, because I didn't have one readily available. I used what used to be a Costco strawberry jam jar, because it was a quart size and I knew a cabbage would yield a quart. I would today recommend, for my future uses, to use a larger size, because of the gassy overflow.
I didn't even go as far as using a mason jar, because I didn't have one readily available. I used what used to be a Costco strawberry jam jar, because it was a quart size and I knew a cabbage would yield a quart. I would today recommend, for my future uses, to use a larger size, because of the gassy overflow.
There are several methods I've seen to ensure a good, safe ferment. I am only going to share with you the 'layer of oil' method because it is the only one I've tried, and with success on the first batch. Therefore, here are my ingredients for this method:
- Cabbage head
- Water
- Olive oil
- Himalayan salt (or other salt)
I made my own brine, and my instructions will share it. I don't get all technical with percentages. You know exact measurements are just a blueprint for me. I worked with the cabbage in fourths, chopping to smaller strips, placing them in a mixing bowl, and to each fourth I gave my salt grinder 7 revolutions. It was a number 7 thing to me, LOL.
Then I smashed that fourth with the backside of a ceramic cup (you know I'm all about using what I already have), just slightly. Afterward I transfered each fourth into the designated jar and smashed even more with the backside of one of my cooking utensils.
I smashed until the cabbage pieces looked watery and green, rather than the lighter color with the crunch, as shown below.
I repeated this chop and salt, smash and jar, and more smash- method with the remaining quarters and did the final smash until the cabbage's liquid was approximately one inch above the cabbage. In my recipe, the salt percentage was just fine. Finally, I added a small layer of olive oil to the top of the ferment. From what I read, this film allows for CO2 off gas, but is a barrier to oxygen intake (which will rot the ferment). It worked for me, and I even did more movement of my ferment than most I've read.
I placed the lid on, finger tight. This also will use positive pressure to prevent oxygen intake. Enough carbon dioxide is building up within, to give enough pressure to push out of the finger-tight lid. The pressure it builds is too strong for oxygen to roam inside. Again, this is just an extra precaution, because the oil should suffice. Each day I opened the lid and pushed the cabbage down (it will want to float). CO2 bubbles will also form in the deppths of the jar, and cause air bubble separatioon in the ferment. I helped those release by this daily push-down. It seemed to help my ferment gas off quicker, as opposed to others I've read who experience gassy rise to overflow days after mine ended. This also gives you an opprtunity to try your ferment, to determine when you are satisfied with the taste to move it to the fridge.
The ferment will get gassy the first few days and will rise to pour over. At day 3 I actually took the lid off and put a ceramic mug in there to hold it all down. It fight nicely enough to cover the jar's opening, but also allow the overflow under much pressure. I put a plate underneath it all to catch the drippings. You may also have to add water in there is too much overflow. I added a couple tablespoons 2 days in a row, and that was it. No more salt needed.
I smashed until the cabbage pieces looked watery and green, rather than the lighter color with the crunch, as shown below.
I repeated this chop and salt, smash and jar, and more smash- method with the remaining quarters and did the final smash until the cabbage's liquid was approximately one inch above the cabbage. In my recipe, the salt percentage was just fine. Finally, I added a small layer of olive oil to the top of the ferment. From what I read, this film allows for CO2 off gas, but is a barrier to oxygen intake (which will rot the ferment). It worked for me, and I even did more movement of my ferment than most I've read.
I placed the lid on, finger tight. This also will use positive pressure to prevent oxygen intake. Enough carbon dioxide is building up within, to give enough pressure to push out of the finger-tight lid. The pressure it builds is too strong for oxygen to roam inside. Again, this is just an extra precaution, because the oil should suffice. Each day I opened the lid and pushed the cabbage down (it will want to float). CO2 bubbles will also form in the deppths of the jar, and cause air bubble separatioon in the ferment. I helped those release by this daily push-down. It seemed to help my ferment gas off quicker, as opposed to others I've read who experience gassy rise to overflow days after mine ended. This also gives you an opprtunity to try your ferment, to determine when you are satisfied with the taste to move it to the fridge.
The ferment will get gassy the first few days and will rise to pour over. At day 3 I actually took the lid off and put a ceramic mug in there to hold it all down. It fight nicely enough to cover the jar's opening, but also allow the overflow under much pressure. I put a plate underneath it all to catch the drippings. You may also have to add water in there is too much overflow. I added a couple tablespoons 2 days in a row, and that was it. No more salt needed.
My ferment made it to day 7, without mold or even white scum. The bubbles became filmy on the top, but nothing I would exactly constitute as white scum. At day seven's push-down, I decided it was the perfect vinegar taste for me, and I moved it to the fridge.
The ferment goes through 3 stages, and in order to go through all 3 quickly, you will need to wait it out 3 weeks at room temperature. The fermenting will continue in the fridge, but much, much slower. As spoken through Wikipedia:
The fermentation process has three phases, collectively sometimes referred to as population dynamics. In the first phase, anaerobic bacteria such as Klebsiella and Enterobacter lead the fermentation, and begin producing an acidic environment that favours later bacteria. The second phase starts as the acid levels become too high for many bacteria, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides and other Leuconostoc spp. take dominance. In the third phase, various Lactobacillus species, including L. brevis and L. plantarum, ferment any remaining sugars, further lowering the pH.I am going to enjoy sauerkraut today! Mine was made from an organic cabbage head for less than $2 for a quart, as opposed to Bubbies' that offers 1/3 less than my yield at $6 a jar. Yes, I surely will enjoy it!
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