What are you fermenting today?

[freemotion]

Some things do get lost but I try to get dates on everything....sometimes I leave off the year and that is a mistake! But ferments are good for the pigs, too!

I try to rotate things with a thorough clean-out of both fridges at least a couple times a year. I tell myself that since ferments are so cheap, it is not a loss if one has to be tossed. I will be tossing some salad dressing mix (fermented Italian herbs from the garden for quick Italian dressing) as soon as a current batch is made. I am just thrilled that it lasted a year! That means I was never without. It is hard to accurately anticipate what we will use.

 

[believer11]

Newbie alert! This may have been answered somewhere in this thread but I'm not finding it so......

I want to preserve my produce without having to keep everything in the fridge. Last year I did both types of ferments - some just went into the basement. About half went bad, the others were still good after 3 months.

What is you all's experience with making fermented veggies and not putting the jars into the fridge?

 

[freemotion]

To do this you need a cellar that will stay at a constant 50 F or so. That is rare in many houses today. Although my house was built in the 1930's and it looks like someone used one corner of the basement for food storage at one time, the furnace keeps the cellar at a higher and inconsistent temperature now. We turned the furnace off in Feb this past winter and I could have stored my ferments there. But we went away in early Feb and the couple who stayed keep the furnace working full-time and then some, with no wood fire.

 

[framing fowl]

I just put 24 grape leaves in the pantry. Recipe says to leave it 3 days and then into the fridge. I still have to figure out exactly what I'm going to stuff them with...

 

[Homemaker]

Well, I just made some ginger carrots. And I have a jar of fish sauce ready to make some ketchup. I haven't opened it yet though. I'm a little scared. I'm new to this but, very excited to experiment.

 

[chicken stalker]

I'm going to can up my first ferment (besides wine) tomorrow. Did some kimchi......hope it's good.

 

[freemotion]

Ooo, don't can it if you can avoid it.....it will kill all the good stuff! Can you find room in the back of the fridge and eat it up live?

 

[ORChick]

I'm going to can up my first ferment (besides wine) tomorrow. Did some kimchi......hope it's good.

You can keep that kimchi in the 'fridge rather than canning it. That way you will retain all the good fermentation bacteria. The heat of canning will destroy them.

 

[Neko-chan]

I need a saurkraut recipe. Any one got a tried and true? (I totally can't remember if I asked this earlier.)

I just fed my sour dough starter again. It's well adjusted now, and smells great. We'll have to finish up the last loaves of bread I made though before I bake another. We have so much bread right now. XD

My ACV has formed a new mother, and now I'm in the market for good unpastuerized apple cider.

 

[freemotion]

Shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, sea salt, a bit of whey. That's it! Or just cabbage and salt. Or add onions. Add caraway seeds. Whatever you'd like! Mash with a potato masher....pound away in a large stainless steel mixing bowl or pot until the juice really comes up, then pack into crock or jar, weight down under the brine (add a bit more brine if needed) and leave at room temp (mid-70's F) for three days, then into cool storage for a few weeks to develop flavor.