Re: Canning Fermented Veggies

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " of Dewberry Hill "

>

> Question: is it possible to can the fermented veggies in canning jars

without losing nutrution or enzymes? Do you need to heat it in a canner? I'm

new to canning veggies, too..so need advice!

>

As I understand it, heating foods to canning temperatures kills the

probiotic value. The ferment itself is meant to be the preservative.

> How do you preserve this food out of the refrigerator for a year or more?

>

I think burying it was the traditional way. I'm counting on my basement.

--s, looking at a film of snow over the yard and thinking the burying thing

just might be a good homeschooling project.....

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

You can't can the kimchi without killing the probiotics and the

enzymes. Kimchi should be kept in the refrigerator until eaten. I

normally jar my kimchi by filling it to the brim, adding its own

natural fermented juices to cover, cover tightly with canning lid

and place in fridge where it will continue to ferment more slowly.

Be careful when opening a jar that's been there for more than a few

days, as it will have built up some pressure and may spurt and

bubble out when you open the jar.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I use lids that are free of rust for my kimchi. I've never had a

kimchi batch last longer than 3 or 4 weeks in my fridge because it

gets eaten so quickly (LOL).I just can't stay out of it--addicted, I

guess. ;-) If I were to store it longer, I'd place plastic wrap

between the jar lids and the mouth of the glass jar. Good point!

As far as the kimchi in the stores, if it's stored in the refrigerated

section of the produce area where I've seen it at stores in my area,

then it is not heat sealed. That is the reason it is refrigerated. I

have never seen canned kimchi stored like a canned vegetable

(nonrefrigerated). Doesn't mean they don't. Just means it doesn't sell

that way here in my area.

[Guest guest]

Vacuum sealing does no good because it takes all the air out of the

jar, but the carbon dioxide gas created from fermentation just fills

the vacuum back up (and " POP " goes the weasel)LOL. As long as you have

live enzymes and bacteria still fermenting away inside the jar, it

will soon " unseal " the jar again.

That is the reason regular canning requires heat processing--to kill

those enzymes and bacteria that would cause the finished product to

lose its seal over time.

[Guest guest]

> > How do you preserve this food out of the refrigerator for a year or more?

> >

> I think burying it was the traditional way. I'm counting on my basement.

> --s, looking at a film of snow over the yard and thinking the burying thing

> just might be a good home schooling project.....

>

Keeping your fermented vegetables in a cool place is a good idea.

If you have sufficient salt (1% or greater) in the fermented vegetables you can

ferment and store them at room temperatures or in a cool place such as a

basement for a period of months or years. I have jars of fermented vegetables in

the basement that are 15 years old or more and are still good. They have not

been heated and are still raw and crunchy.

If you have strong jars you can ferment vegetables in a glass jar with a tight

lid. You have to leave a head space of about 20% of the volume of the jar to

allow the contents to expand. When I use ordinary canning jars I leave the lid

just hand tight for a couple weeks to allow some pressure to escape and then

tighten them up tight. I haven't been completely satisfied with this as some

jars lose too much pressure and don't keep well but it's the best way to keep

the jars from exploding that I have found.

I have probably around a hundred gallons of fermented vegetables in jars in

total in the basement right now. : -)

regards, Bruce