Basic Fermenting for beginners

WE FERMENT!  Indeed we do.  We make cheese, yogurt, beer, wine and bread as well as some experiments with citrus enzyme cleaners.  We have (or will soon have) posts concerning all of these ferments, but wanted to expand on our sauerkraut recipe we wrote about last year (see post).  We have made several batches of sauerkraut over the past year with cabbage only and the kids love it.  Our current batch is made with carrots and turnips (an experiment) so stay tuned as we should be posting in a couple of weeks about our results.  For now we wanted to share the basic methodology.

Our basic Kraut / vegetable fermentation method:

Placed in refrigerator after reaching desired flavor

Shredded vegetable:  Root veggies or cabbage or other brassicas.  All vegetables can be mixed according to your availability.  Fill up your container with sliced or shredded veggies.  Cabbage is the traditional vegetable used, but you can easily ferment most brassicas, carrots, rutabagas, turnips, beats or even burdock root.

Whey:  We use whey to fill the liquid portion of the fermentation vessel.  Whey introduces lactobacillus and also helps reduce pH.  Many fermenters simply use water as there are naturally occurring lactobacillus on the outside of most vegetables.  Ever notice that white film on cabbage leaves or the outside of carrots?  On grapes?  Much of that film is composed of microbes ready and willing to turn your fruits and veggies into fermentable goodness.  We add whey only because we have it readily available.  It is not really necessary. 

Vinegar:  Vinegar reduces the pH giving the lactobacillus a boost.  This is also reportedly not necessary according to the master fermenters.  We add it simply out of paranoia and to give the acid loving lactobacillus an advantage over the other microbes.  Caution:  If you decide to use vinegar, do not add too much.  We add about ¼ cup per gallon.  If you add too much, you will pickle your veggies before the lactobacillus can do its job.

Salt (uniodized):  It helps break down cell walls of the veggies.  Iodine in Iodized salt will kill or inhibit lactobacillus growth.  Any non-iodized salt will do.  I have heard of people using sea salt, Kosher salt, Morton salt, etc.  We simply use the cheapest un-iodized store brand we can find.  You can make a brine or you can simply sprinkle salt in as you go.  Some fermenters go so far as to rub salt into the shredded veggies prior to addition.  We are lazy so just sprinkle some in as we go.  Do not overdo it with salt.  We add about 1 tablespoon per gallon.  You can do more (up to 3 TBS per gallon).  If your brine solution is too strong the lactobacillus will not be able to thrive and you will end up with brined (unfermented) veggies.      

Let vegetables ferment for 1-4 weeks.  Vegetable matter must be completely submerged.  The longer they ferment, the softer the kraut and the more sour it will be.  You can check on it every few days to make sure everything is doing OK.  To stop fermentation, place in jars in the refrigerator or boil and can (though boiling will kill the live culture and thus reduce probiotic benefits).  There may be some unpleasant odor initially....this is normal.

References:  We got into vegetable fermentation after attending a Mother Earth News Fair and listening to Dr. Sandor Katz, the proclaimed fermentation guru.  We did our homework through Dr. Katz’s books as well as online.  A quick google search for fermented vegetables will give you a plethora of information.  Click on the links to learn more:

Dr.Sandor Katz’s website

Cultures for Health Website:

Food safety concerns: (MINIMAL)  Fermented vegetables have very little risk from foodborne illness.  I had originally heard this claim from Sandor Katz, the proclaimed guru of vegetable fermentation, in a lecture at the Mother Earth News Fair.  Being a food safety "professional", I was quite skeptical of this claim.  I researched back 10 years in the Center for Disease Control Database and found no references to fermented vegetables causing food poisoning.  This was quite surprising to me.  I did find several references to fermented meat and dairy causing illness, but none for fermented vegetables.  To me, this speaks volumes as to the safety of eating kraut.  The chemistry behind fermented vegetables is very hostile towards the bad bugs.  In other words, the bacteria that normally cause illness associated with food (botulism, e. coli., salmonella, staph aureus, etc.) are unable to grow at the pH and salinity levels associated with lactobacillus fermentation.  Bottom line, it is very safe!  This is probably the reason that fermentation has been used for centuries as a food preserving method.  It is safe, easy, and inexpensive - not to mention quite tasty and good for you....PROBIOTICS at their finest.  If you are still concerned, a quick boil (5 minutes or less) of your Kraut will kill any microbes.

Please comment with questions or advice.