I must always have something fermented in my fridge. More often than not, it is cabbage. There are so many reasons this is the classic vegetable to ferment. It is extremely cheap. It has a flavor that is sweet, mild, and open to endless seasoning variations. It’s crispiness is perfect for maintaining some crunch despite prolonged fermentation, giving you that sour brininess you want without sacrificing texture. Carrots and radishes are some other vegetables than lend well to fermenting.
fermentation vessels
The key to fermentation is making sure the vegetable matter stays fully submerged in the brine and making sure the gas that builds up can escape without bacteria getting in. I have a 3 gallon fermentation crock that came with ceramic weights that I use. It has a little moat on the top that the heavy lid sits in which you fill with water. There are some notches in the lid that sit below the water line allowing gas to escape, but air cant get in. I love it because I can throw everything in there and forget about it for a while(except for topping off the water in the seal every now and then, as it evaporates). You can rig up something with what you have, of course. A mason jar with a lid and something to weigh down the vegetables works fine. You just have to “burp” the jar every day to let the gas escape. I used rocks on a large muscadine leaf for weights before I got my crock(well-washed, of course). You can also buy airlock lids that fit on wide-mouth mason jars. This is a much cheaper option than investing in a nice crock if you are just interested in small batch ferments. This is also a cool tutorial on making your own, although the diamond drill bit is an investment if you don’t already have one.
water & salt
For the brine, you want a 2%-3% salinity. I have weighed everything out and calculated it exactly before, but I find that 2 tbs kosher salt to every quart of water works well for me. I just use filtered tap water, but if you have access to spring water that would be better. For the salt, the coarser, the better. Larger crystals are better at drawing moisture out of the vegetable, which you want. I use kosher salt, but coarse sea salt would be fine too. Just make sure that whatever salt you use does not contain any additives or anti-caking agents(Morton kosher salt does, diamond crystal does not). I have used Morton in the past and its really fine, it just makes your ferments cloudy.
fun with flavor
This is where I urge you to be creative and experimental. If you are the type of person who likes pre-formatted recipe cards and following them to the tee, well, then you probably are not reading my blog. There are age-old flavor combinations that work, of course, but leaving room for play in the kitchen is where genius is born. It also makes cooking fun and exciting! Traditional kraut is seasoned with caraway seeds only and I do love the simple dance of the salty brine with the bittersweet nuttiness of the caraway. Kimchi is the Korean version of fermented cabbage(using napa cabbage) and uses lots of chili, garlic, and ginger. Lemongrass, turmeric, coriander seeds, and mustard seeds are other possible additions. When using lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and turmeric always use fresh and peeled. Slice the ginger and turmeric as thin as you can get them. Beat the lemongrass with the back of you knife to release its flavor. For other spices, use whole seeds whenever possible in fermenting and pickling.
time
Once everything is in the fermentation vessel, sitting on your counter or in you pantry, all you have to do is top off the water in the lid(if using a traditional crock) or burp the mason jar(daily at first, then every now and then as the fermentation slows down) and wait. If using a clear glass vessel, you will want to keep it in your pantry or another dark place as light kills the lactic acid-producing bacteria that cause fermentation. I will give mine 2 weeks before tasting to see where its at. How long you let it sit just depends on how fermented you like it. Once it’s ready, store it in the fridge and enjoy on demand. I have kept ferments in my fridge for a year and still found them deliciously edible. Check out my post on ways to enjoy your sauerkraut and on uses for the leftover brine.