filled jar with layers of quartered and sliced turnips and red beets, added some mustard seed and celery seed, covered with 5% brine.
03.26.17 – I think I’m going to let these ferment for a while. I’m not a huge fan of the turnips so far.
04.08.17 – It’s been three weeks and i’m still not a fan. I guess i’ll just let it go longer…
05.10.17 – I ended up tossing these. I was looking for a jar today to make some fermented rhubarb in. Tasted a couple of these and decided I will never eat them.
522g cabbage (1/2 head)
421g carrots (white and orange)
510g chioggia beets
247g turnips
25g sea salt
sauerkraut method.
03.21.17 – this got slimy and brown. I removed as much of the brown stuff as I could and added some 5% brine on top.
03.26.17 – It’s looking better now. I left it alone for a while. Today I tried to squeeze some of the gas bubbles out and I topped it off with some radish kraut brine. This helped put some color back. I tasted it and it’s seems fine. I will let it ferment for at least another week.
04.04.17 – moved this to the fridge today
390 g shredded chioggia beets and kohlrabi (3 med beets and 1/4 Kossak kohlrabi)
6 g fine sea salt
83 g granny smith apple (1 small), shredded
This made exactly 2 cups but I put it in a quart knowing it’ll bubble over in a pint jar. When it’s ready to go in the fridge I’ll move it to a smaller jar.
03.22.17 – This probably did not need the apple
1/2 big (Kossak) kohlrabi, cut into 1/2 inch sticks
2 cups water (from kettle, cooled)
22g fine sea salt
garlic clove
bay leaf
mustard seeds
celery seeds
red pepper flakes
Dissolve salt in water. Add spices/flavorings to quart jar. Pack in kohlrabi sticks. Cover with brine. Jiggle the jar a little to disperse the spices. Cover jar loosely.
UPDATE 03.18.17 – I wish I had written down how long I let these ferment. I feel like it was just over a week. Maybe 2 weeks. Owen loves these, which is awesome. They are pretty great. Crunchy, not too sour, great flavor.
Here’s my second attempt at beets and cabbage, this time a more appetizing purple/red color. One jar has red beets, the other has Chioggia beets. I noticed the striped beets were a little sweeter than the red beets, so I’m curious to see how that will affect the final flavor. I decided to hand cut the beets this time. I tried using the mandoline but the beets were so hard that it was easier to use a knife.
I went for about a 1.5% salt to veggie ratio by weight. Below are the amounts for the entire 2 jars combined.
650 g shredded red cabbage (3/4 head)
540 g julienned beets (scrubbed but skins left on)
18 g fine sea salt
17 g grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, sliced
02.11.17 – 1 week update: not quite ready yet. I’ll test it again in another week.
03.18.17 – I don’t remember when I moved these to the fridge. I like the jar with the red beets slightly better than the chioggia, which I was not expecting. I don’t know if the ginger was necessary here, but fun to play with flavors.
Scrubbed Beets
I should have realized that mixing golden beets and chiogga beets would produce a brownish brine. I probably should have made two batches and separated the beet colors. Here’s hoping it tastes good! I wish I had planned ahead and bought some ginger root, but I think the ground ginger will work out fine.
About 8 cups shredded beets (give or take)
1/2 head of green cabbage, shredded
2 tbsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Combine all ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes or so. Use hands to squish the veggies for a few minutes to release liquid. Pack into jar.
Update 01.14.17 – I’ll probably throw this one away. It looks so unappetizing.
We had an over-abundance of watermelon radishes from the CSA so it was time to do some experimenting.
I ended up with 2 full food processor bowls of shredded radish, so about 14 cups, give or take. I put it all in a giant bowl and sprinkled 2 tbsp of sea salt over it. Then I treated it just like sauerkraut. This ended up fitting perfectly in a 1/2 gallon jar with plenty of brine to cover.
Update 01.15.17 – I moved these to the fridge last night because they taste good and the activity slowed down almost completely. I had a little for dinner with some sauerkraut. After 4 days it started to STINK. After the stinky kimchi, I suspected that it was either the daikon radish or the fish sauce that was the culprit, and now I know it was the radish. I even googled it and it seems I’m not the only one with stinky fermented radishes!
I used to make yogurt using skim or low fat milk and used a more complicated process of adding dry milk powder, and heating it for 10 minutes in a double boiler before cooling and incubating. These days I buy full fat, usually organic, dairy products.
I haven’t made yogurt in years. I decided to make a batch of whole milk yogurt today. No powdered milk, no holding at 200° for 10 minutes. I didn’t even use a double boiler. Just heat to 180°, cool to 115°, then add yogurt and incubate. I made a full batch for my yogurt maker – 42oz total. 4oz yogurt and 38oz (2 lb 6oz) whole milk. Incubated for about 5 hours. It turned out pretty good. A lot simpler, not as thick, but it’s fine.
Yogurt with chia seeds, strawberries, and honey
02.16.17 – I tried making yogurt using my Instant Pot today. It’s so much easier! I made it in a wide mouth quart Ball jar. Steaming the milk first was so quick and since I used the jar there’s basically no cleanup.
03.29.17 – I guess I was lucky the first time I used the Ball jar in the Instant Pot because every time since then (twice) the jar has broken. The first time I thought it was just because I put it directly in the ice water, but today, it broke while it was still in the pot. So, never do that again! Fortunately I have a high-walled metal bowl that fits in the pot so I heat the milk in there first, then move it to the jar to incubate.
I followed this recipe from thekitchn.com. I used savoy cabbage instead of napa because that’s what my CSA gave me. It’s fine but next time I will try to use napa cabbage. I used 2 tbsp of gochugaru and I think next time I would just use 1 tbsp. I used 2 tbsp fish sauce for the seafood flavor and I don’t think I’ll use that next time. I let it ferment for 3 days which may have been a day too long.
It’s great in ramen soup and I mixed some with my scrambled eggs. May try it with peanut butter/bread like Tired Hands served it.
The downside to this batch was that it made the fridge smell like something died in it. I suspect it was the fish sauce, but I’m not sure.
UPDATE 02.03.17
Made this again yesterday. This time I had actual Napa cabbage! My cabbage was a little over 2 lbs. My scallions were really fat, so I probably should have used less than 4. I had black radishes so I used them instead of daikon. 1 tbsp gochugaru and just water instead of fish sauce. There was just slightly too much to fit into a quart jar so I used a half gallon. I think I will use slightly less scallion/radish next time, since the cabbage is my favorite part anyway. Maybe I’ll leave out the radish altogether (the culprit of the stench). The only reason I put it in this time is because I had some to use up.
02.02.17 batch
03.26.17 – I’m supposed to get a head of green cabbage this week from the CSA and I’m planning on making a batch of kimchi, since I already have all the other ingredients and I just finished up my last jar. I think I’ll use 2 T of gochugaru again and I think it really missed the umami from the fish sauce last time so I’ll use it again. I should buy a better bottle though.
11.05.18 – Napa Cabbage, purple daikon radish, green onion sliced thinly at a diagonal, 1 1/2 T gochugaru, Thai kitchen fish sauce. 3 days fermentation. I really like this batch!
first batch
I’ve made sauerkraut a few times now following this recipe. The first few times I let it ferment for 1 week, and this last time I let it go for 2 weeks. My brother says he ferments his for at least a month, preferably 2 months.
I also love using purple cabbage.
