heidi's green beans (Re: napa kimchi and)

[Guest guest]

>would you share your green bean recipe, please? for example, do you

>cook them beforehand? do you add anything else to them aside from the

>salted water?

1. Use young tender beans.

2. Parboil the green beans (the French book did NOT do this, but the Harsch

crock book says you must because of lectins in the beans. Might depend on

how old the beans are). Just immerse them for a minute or so, DON'T cook them.

3. Boil some water, adding 2T of salt per quart of water. Let it cool. Then

add about 1T per quart of vineger (no preservatives in the vinegar! raw

vinegar would be best) or better, kimchi juice. This is to make it a little

acidic. You can add more kimchi juice if you want -- esp if it is nice and

garlicky, adds a good flavor. The French book didn't use kimchi juice or

vinegar: the acid idea I got from my Mom, whose Grandma used to do this.

You could use whey instead. But they come out ok with just the salt too.

You can add spices if you like too: dill goes good with green beans.

4. Put the green beans in a jar. Pour the water over them, up to the top,

and put the lids on loosely.

5. Set the jars on a cookie sheet or something (they leak) for a couple of

days. Then tighten the lid and put them in the fridge.

That is the French method. They would be better in a Harsch crock with a

stone to weight them down, then put them in a jar. However, I did the jar

method and they came out ok. Except everyone likes kimchi better, so now I

add some green beans to the dill kimchi (parboiled and cut into 1 inch

chunks) along with sweet peppers (not cooked), which has become a favorite.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

> >would you share your green bean recipe, please? for example, do you

> >cook them beforehand? do you add anything else to them aside from the

> >salted water?

One more thing I just though of: if you parboil the beans and boil the

water, there are *no good* bacteria to start the process. The French book

did not boil the beans, and specifically said to pick them fresh and not

wash them. Cabbage has plenty of good bacteria, but I don't think beans do,

so much. So BE SURE to add an innoculant -- kimchi juice, whey, or even

pureed napa or cabbage. I have not had them go bad, but if you get the

wrong bacteria they can get slimy and decidedly unnappetizing. Adding some

napa to your recipe is always a good insurance -- the stuff is magical.

Beans with some napa and red pepper look cool, and it will ferment better

probably.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

This is a cross-post from the Kefir group, but I couldn't resist. Dom

comes from a family that has done " traditional " cooking forever, and his

mom did vegies the way my mother described, with vinegar (likely raw

vinegar?) and salt.

-------------

I've been off line for a few days, but just read your post, while

following this interesting thread. My mother pickles veggies with

vinegar and salt, which she has done since she was a young girl back in

Italy. She has kept the tradition going here in Oz. Although her method

is to first blanch the veggies, then adds diluted home made vinegar with

salt, placing the ingredients in jars with lids fitted. We have never

had any problem with her pickled veggies, which we grew up on.

I am not certain if ths vacuum packaging device would be needed to store

your pickled veggies. If you do it correctly, the veggies should keep

for years [as do my mothers pickles].

Oh yes, I recall how some kids at school used to tease me, over our

lunch breaks. Some kids used to state things like " Ohhh yukeee dom,

what's all those red and purple things in your huge sandwiches? " I would

answer with something like " Hmmm--- normal food, home-grown homemade

pickled veggies " .

" And what are your having " , I would ask in return. I recall one dudeett

at the time having chocolate spread with peanut butter sandwiches. After

this young lad tasted one of my sandwiches, he loved them! He would ask

for one of my sangers almost every day. One other dude used to really

try and put me down with my mum\s Italian style sandwiches. One day, he

asked me why my sandwiches were brown that particular, and not filled

with an assortment of colours and with unusual aroma. I said to him,

" Mum made me chocolate spread sandwiches today. Would you like to try

one?.. I asked. His eyes gleamed as he said with, " Yep!~! I sure would

dom " . After he ate the sandwich , I said to him, " So, did you enjoy the

homemade chocolate flavoured PIG'S BLOOD PUDDING sandwich <<GGG>>?!!!

His faceal colour put the very meaning to words of the song " A Whiter

Shade of Pale "

And you know something?... he never teased me ever again!

Be-well,

Dom

[Guest guest]

hi, heidi, and thank you for the reply...all 3 of them!

<So BE SURE to add an innoculant -- kimchi juice, whey, or even

pureed napa or cabbage. I have not had them go bad, but if you get

the wrong bacteria they can get slimy and decidedly unnappetizing.

Adding some napa to your recipe is always a good insurance -- the

stuff is magical. Beans with some napa and red pepper look cool, and

it will ferment better probably. >

i was planning to add whey anyway, but i'll see if i can get some

napa this wk and start playing around w/it.

i remember reading a post on one of your experiments: you were

comparing the fermentation results of different inoculants. would it

be bad to use *both* napa and whey? i don't suppose so, since one of

sally's recipes calls for both.

i'm the one who responded to your first inquiry to this group with my

tale of getting sick from cultured veggies, and i guess that i am

overly cautious.

thanks again--

allene