The adventures in lactofermentation continue!After letting the salted cabbage sit overnight, this morning I drained the brine solution and reserved it. Then, I added what I thought were reasonable amounts of crushed chiles, fresh ginger and fresh garlic (also from the CSA farm) and some sugar. Then I poured the brine back over the cabbage, just to cover it in the jars. From one cabbage I got two 500 ml jars of what I hope will be kimchi in a week or so from now.
I've followed Sharon's instructions and put the lids on the canning jars loosely, so as to let the gas from the fermentation process escape. The two jars now sit in the basement, next to my pickled beans. It's fairly cool down there - about 14 degrees C/58F. I tasted the cabbage mixture before putting it in the jars and who-ee! It's salty! I'm assuming this will mellow over time as the lactofermentation works its magic.
If this works, I will definitely be doing it again. It's a really low-engery-input process, just letting salt and time do all the work!
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7 comments:
Sometimes our sauerkraut is too salty so we just keep washing it until its palatable.
The kimchi looks good.
Hm. Maybe I should have washed it before adding the other stuff?
I come back to see how this is doing. Can you do a sniff/scratch on the blog?
I like kimchi, but haven't made it myself although I have done a bit of lacto-fermentation.
What things have you lacto-fermented, E?
Scratch and sniff would be cool, for sure! All I can tell you is that it was very salty and fairly spicy when I put in into the canning jars this morning....
I'm looking forward to seeing what you learned your too so I could skip that part. I had kimchi for the first time this year and loved it. Forget the scratch and sniff I'd really like a bite so I could taste it!
I tried lactofermenting some beans and some snap peas ... I grabbed one bean hunk out of the brine and tasted it awhile back, and it was ... well, a salty bean. :) I suppose it's time to try again!
I have never had kimchi, although I keep hearing about it. I suppose I should try it ... I do like cabbage, in many forms, so it's probably something I'd eat.
Speaking of eating ... Theresa, I know you don't eat meat, but we did finally get the license to sell our grass-fed lamb ... and I have a freezer full waiting to grace the table of some carnivore somewhere. If you know anyone looking for well cared for, anti-biotic-free, grass fed lamb ... send 'em my way, ok? :)
Hmm...one of my colleagues at work may be interested in this - I will let him know.
I tasted my kimchi after a week and so far it is also just salty cabbage! I'll keep waiting...
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