Re: New to Culturing Vegetables

March 24, 2008

>

> I am so excited to find this group. I have been fascinated by

> culturing/fermenting for some time now. I have read several

> articles and books but still am hesitant to start.

Hello and welcome to the group. I am rather new too, but have been

lurking, reading and taking everything in. I too have just started

lacto-fermenting and with amazing results. Since I make our own

yogurt, I usually have cream cheese and extra whey on hand.

> Here's my dilemma: I don't want to use 5 lbs of vegetables. It

> seems like every recipe I have found requires a ton of veggies. I

> just want to start small.

I hear ya. You can do this, it's easy.

> How can I take 4 medium sized carrots and ferment them?

A good way to gauge this - since you have to sort of mash your veg, to

open membranes and release juices - is to kind of " eyeball " what would

fit into a jar you have in mind. Most people have quart or pint jars

hanging around in their kitchen. So say you have a pint jar, like an

old peanut butter jar that you've cleaned very well. 4 mediums sized

carrots would probably fit nicely, all smashed in there. A little

hint here though; a bit of ginger might make all the difference in

your end product. Here's what I suggest:

4 medium sized carrots, grated

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

1 teaspoon pink or sea salt

2 tablespoons of whey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pound/mash with a wooden pounder or

meat tenderizer. Smush this into your jar until the juices are

covering the carrots. Fill until there is at least one inch from the

top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temp. for three days.

Gobble or store in fridge.

When you make quart sized fermented veg, like I mostly do, a good rule

is to use 4 tablespoons of whey and 1 tablespoon of salt, mash, stuff

to one inch from top, cover and let sit for three days. You'll have

yummy, healthy veg (most) every time.

-vanessa

.... happy fermenting

March 25, 2008

Culturing small amounts of vegetables is easy. I started out much the same way

you describe: a lot of excitement, a lot of ignorance, and no experience. I

consume and sell a blend of eight beneficial bacteria that I use to innoculate

my ferments. Many peope use whey or nothing for innoculant. I have tasted

vegetables fermented without my innoculant and I like mine better. I know I can

expect consistently good results with what I use, but that is beside the point.

On my sebsite, www.health-helps-you.com you will find some recipes for lacto

fermented vegetables. The link is on the left hand side down toward the bottom.

I also make and sell wooden vegetable pounders, but again those are not

essential for you to get started. Instead of pounding, mix the sea-salt with the

vegetables and let sit for an hour more or less. The salt will draw the juice

out from the shredded vegetables. Then pack the vegetables into a pint or quart

jar,(the liquid should cover the vegetables, if not add enough water to cover)

put the lid on (flat and ring), and set the jar somewhere where it will be about

70 degrees F for about 3 days. You can eat your fermented vegetables at the end

of the 3 days, but they will develop better flavor if allowed to age awhile in

the refrigerator.

The vegetable pounder makes a great jar packer. But you can use many different

things for that job. Saw a hardwood tree limb that is the correct diameter to

the right length and strip off the bark. Whittle a smooth end to fit your hand

and you have a good packer. Locust, oak, boxelder, ash, maple, or other

hardwoods will work fine.

Once you get started, your imagination will start kicking into gear. There will

always be those " I wonder if I could ferment this " projects. Some will turn out

well, others may not. The only thing to look out for is the presence of mold or

a bad smell or a bad taste. If any of these are there, get rid of those veggies

and try again. If you run a compost heap, you have not wasted anything, you have

fed your garden so it will feed you.

Ellis Hein

www.health-helps-you.com

www.woodturnedart.vcn.com

New to Culturing Vegetables

I am so excited to find this group. I have been fascinated by

culturing/fermenting for some time now. I have read several articles

and books but still am hesitant to start.

Here's my dilemma: I don't want to use 5 lbs of vegetables. It seems

like every recipe I have found requires a ton of veggies. I just want

to start small.

How can I take 4 medium sized carrots and ferment them? I don't want

to use cabbage or anything other than carrots at first. What is the

ratio of carrots to salt (or whey) that I would need to use? Does the

size of the wide-mouth jar matter? Do I need to cover in water or

just using salt sufficient? If water, how much?

Thanks!

March 29, 2008

>

> On my sebsite, www.health-helps-you.com you will find some recipes for

> lacto fermented vegetables. The link is on the left hand side down

> toward the bottom.

Hi Ellis,

This link works for me, but I did not see any recipes or links on this

page.

Can you help?

-vanessa

March 29, 2008

,

Sorry that you have had trouble getting to the recipes. Here is a direct link to

that page: http://heinfamilyenterprises.com/health/recipe.html. And here is the

direct link to the page that shows the vegetable pounders:

http://heinfamilyenterprises.com/health/pounder.html.

Thanks for looking and have fun. I must go eat my breakfast of 1 pint oatmeal

that has undergone lactic acid fermentation garnished with a sprinkle of soaked

nuts and some raisins. If it wasn't for the fact that, like Pooh, this pint of

oatmeal has been calling me for some time now, I could say more about it. I have

to go answer it.

Ellis Hein

Re: New to Culturing Vegetables

>

> On my sebsite, www.health-helps-you.com you will find some recipes for

> lacto fermented vegetables. The link is on the left hand side down

> toward the bottom.

Hi Ellis,

This link works for me, but I did not see any recipes or links on this

page.

Can you help?

-vanessa

April 3, 2008

Thanks for the advice. I actually re-read your message and caught something

that you mentioned. Yesterday, I cut up my carrots, added the salt, and put

some whey in a Mason jar. Despite trying to pound it till juice formed, I still

couldn't cover it with the liquid. When I re-read your message, you mentioned

adding water if necessary. Well, I opened the jar this morning and added enough

water to just cover the carrot/ginger mix. Do you think I messed up the

fermentation by opening it a day after I started it?

Emond

peteremond@...

New to Culturing Vegetables

I am so excited to find this group. I have been fascinated by

culturing/fermentin g for some time now. I have read several articles

and books but still am hesitant to start.

Here's my dilemma: I don't want to use 5 lbs of vegetables. It seems

like every recipe I have found requires a ton of veggies. I just want

to start small.

How can I take 4 medium sized carrots and ferment them? I don't want

to use cabbage or anything other than carrots at first. What is the

ratio of carrots to salt (or whey) that I would need to use? Does the

size of the wide-mouth jar matter? Do I need to cover in water or

just using salt sufficient? If water, how much?

Thanks!

April 3, 2008

>

> Thanks for the advice. I Do you think I messed up the fermentation

by opening it a day after I started it?

Not at all!

The salt will help prevent unwanted bacteria from taking over. Your

fermentation is safe.

Nance

April 4, 2008

,

I think you are still ok. You can keep an eye on the progress and see how it

comes out. It might depend upon the strength of the innoculant or the culture of

bacteria whether or not opening the jar will adversely affect the final product.

But let it go to completion and see.

I don't know how you pack your jars, but after I let the vegetables sit mixed

with the salt and the Spectrabiotic innoculant, I put about an inch of loose

vegetable in the jar . My pounders that I make fit in a wide mouth canning jar

and I use that to press the vegetables down quite firmly. Then I add another

inch of loose vegetables and pack again. Each layer packs down to a much thinner

layer. After about the third layer, you should begin to get enough juice to

cover the vegetables. (IF the pounder you use is too narrow, it will not

adequately pack the jar. The loose vegetables will buldge up around the sides of

the pounder if it does not closely fit the size of the jar. ) Some vegetables

have more juice than others. In those instances where your particular vegetables

are drier than usual, you can add enough water at the end to cover the

vegetables.

I have had ferments that the top vegetables were out of the juice, but were

still good. They were just a little less crisp than the others.

Hope this helps.

Ellis Hein

New to Culturing Vegetables

I am so excited to find this group. I have been fascinated by

culturing/fermentin g for some time now. I have read several articles

and books but still am hesitant to start.

Here's my dilemma: I don't want to use 5 lbs of vegetables. It seems

like every recipe I have found requires a ton of veggies. I just want

to start small.

How can I take 4 medium sized carrots and ferment them? I don't want

to use cabbage or anything other than carrots at first. What is the

ratio of carrots to salt (or whey) that I would need to use? Does the

size of the wide-mouth jar matter? Do I need to cover in water or

just using salt sufficient? If water, how much?

Thanks!

April 4, 2008