I'm trying fermenting for the first time and I'm super nervous!! I'm making some fermented pickles and onions. Got my fermenting kit and using a widemouth jar as my pickling crock hasn't arrived yet. 😊 I want to try some other recipies (once I get more jars lol) Any suggestions?? I want to try the hot sauce Mark did a video on but not sure what else.
First time fermenting...
- Thread starter Cyndi
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Good luck!
Brainfog made it a little hard for me to find these for you, but mark has some pickling videos! I figured I'd add them in under here in case you hadn't seen them yet; most were made by a much younger Mark!
And a bonus egg one!
Brainfog made it a little hard for me to find these for you, but mark has some pickling videos! I figured I'd add them in under here in case you hadn't seen them yet; most were made by a much younger Mark!
And a bonus egg one!
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We make a lot of kimchi (mostly cabbage & radish) at home. The technique is slightly different as you don't need hot pickling liquid but rather loads of salt and patience. Plenty of recipes for that online all over the place. If you don't like spicy you can make baek kimchi ("white kimchi") which has a similar fermentation process without the chilli powder.
You can use any green or vegetable to make kimchi; it doesn't have to be cabbage. Greens are edible from day 1 and get more fermented over time. I find that root vegies like radish are best after at least day 7, but maybe that's just my palate speaking.
Kimchi-fermented products are best refrigerated after the initial fermentation time is complete, which is what makes them differ from pickles, which can be stored at room temperature.
You can use any green or vegetable to make kimchi; it doesn't have to be cabbage. Greens are edible from day 1 and get more fermented over time. I find that root vegies like radish are best after at least day 7, but maybe that's just my palate speaking.
Kimchi-fermented products are best refrigerated after the initial fermentation time is complete, which is what makes them differ from pickles, which can be stored at room temperature.
Try kim chi/ Fermented asian cabbage but you can use any vegetable really.. Stop by an asian food store and buy Korean chili paste, it comes in a little tub very cheap. You salt ferment for 24hrs, wash and drain then stir in the Korean chili paste and put in the fridge for several weeks. It does it's thing. the water from the vegetables elach out, mix with teh chili and salt to create the pickling solution and lasts for months. Awesome to add into soups if you like spice but also good as a condiment with BBQ meats.
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Here's my first foray into fermentation. These are smaller (500 ml give or take) jars (I can never remember which of the Imperial sizes is which). One jar is just zucchini, one has dill added with it, and one has a clove of garlic. I'm looking forward to watching the ferment and tasting them soon.
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Maybe I shouldn't have used the "angry" emoji, but my wife and her family have never salt-fermented for more than 2-4 hours! However, I will admit there is likely some regions of Korea that do a 24 hr salt ferment. I've never heard of salting it that long, though. It really isn't needed.
The typical process for baechu (wombok, or Chinese) cabbage kimchi, according to my wife's recipe, is as follows:
1. Separate each leaf of the cabbage by cutting or breaking it off near the base. Inspect each leaf for insects/disease and retain healthy leaves. Cut off diseased or damaged parts. Wash thoroughly. OPTIONAL: separate yellow core leaves into a pile to be eaten fresh with boiled pork belly as Bo Ssam.
2. Slice leaves into 2-3 inch (5-7 cm) chunks. Larger, outside leaves can be cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into chunks. Smaller, inner leaves can be merely halved or left whole, depending on their size.
3. Place a layer of sliced cabbage leaf into a large bowl or a sanitised stainless-steel kitchen sink. Douse cabbage liberally with Kimchi (coarse-grain) salt (approx 2-4 tablespoons per layer). Add another layer of leaves and repeat the process until all the leaves are salted. Let the leaves sit for 1 hour. After 1 hour, use your hands to mix the leaves gently, rotating all the layers together. Let the cabbage sit for another 1 hour.
4. After 2 hours have elapsed, wash the salt off thoroughly (this is why we do it in our sink!) and drain well in a colander. Mix your favourite kimchi sauce (this is the point you have to choose white kimchi [LINK] or red kimchi [LINK]) with the washed leaves and transfer to a fermentation container.
5. Immediately refrigerate.
Kimchi can be eaten from the moment it has been mixed with its final sauce. It will develop more fermentation 'funk' factor as it ages, usually from about day 4. Kimchi can be kept refrigerated for up to 2 years! Fresh kimchi is best enjoyed with boiled meat, bbq meat and rice. Aged (funky) kimchi is excellent cooked in stir fries, fried rice (bokkum bap), soups (e.g. kimchi jjiggae), or eaten as a side dish with ramen noodles.
Do you think you could share this in the recipes section of articles? It sounds really good
The salt stays in mine. I salt whatever I'm fermenting at about 2% then massage through and leave on the bench for an hour or so to start expelling the juices. Then loosely bottle for about another week until it's nicely fermented for eating. This style of fermentation suits my circumstances, as I'm on a rural property and my grey water goes to the apple trees, so rinsing excess salts would be ill advised.
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I'll take photos the next time we do kimchi at home and rewrite it.Do you think you could share this in the recipes section of articles? It sounds really good