It’s the end of a very good year, and I’ve been using my holiday vacation to ferment up a storm in my kitchen. I can’t wait to taste the results of all my experiments, and look forward to starting 2019 with a fridge fully stocked with mason jars full of assorted fermented vegetables!
In the meantime, I leave you with a nice little kraut recipe to start the new year on the right foot. This one was inspired by this sumac salad. It’s incredibly zingy, thanks to the lemon and sumac, and has a beautiful pink colour with stripes of green.
Happy New Year!!!
How to Make Kraut
If you’ve never made kraut or kimchi before, don’t feel intimidated (I know I did the first time!). It may take time to chop, grate, slice and pound your ingredients, but it’s very simple, and far safer than most people would assume. A resource I recommend to anyone who is interested in fermentation is Sandor Ellix Katz’ The Art of Fermentation. Katz provides an invaluable wealth of information on the benefits, methods and traditions surrounding fermenting worldwide, from sauerkraut to beer to tempeh. This book is a great resource and an endless source of inspiration! The following guidelines are adapted from his chapter on fermenting vegetables.
#1 Chopping
Although not necessary for fermentation per se, chopping your vegetables creates more surface area from which to draw out its juices. Since kraut usually relies on dry-salting rather than brining, the finer the chop, the easier it is to pack and submerge the vegetables in step 3.
#2 Salting
Salt is important for four reasons. 1) Through osmosis, it helps draw water out of your vegetables, to create an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment for lactic acid bacteria to grow. 2) Salt keeps your vegetables crispier by hardening pectin fibres and hampering their digestion by enzymes. 3) Salt creates an environment favourable to lactic acid bacteria (the good guys!) and less so to other, less desirable microorganisms, giving the former a competitive advantage. 4) Salt slows down the fermentation process, extending the potential for preservation. You can play around with the amount of salt, but I don’t recommend skipping it!
#3 Pounding and Packing
Bruising the vegetables further helps to draw out their juices. You can use your hands to massage the vegetables, or use a specialized pounding tool designed for this purpose. The next step is to pack the vegetable mixture inside a fermentation vessel such a mason jar or a crock.
#4 Submerging
In order to prevent undesirable molds from growing on your carefully prepared kraut, you want to maintain an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment for your vegetables, which requires keeping them submerged under their own juices. A few options include: 1) Using a fermentation weight (usually made of glass or safe ceramic). 2) Saving and washing the tough outer leaves of your cabbage, and using that to push down the vegetables. At the end of the fermentation period, discard these leaves. The kraut underneath should be free of mold.
#5 Covering
To limit oxygen exposure and prevent surface molds from developing, it is important to cover the opening of your vessel. At the same time, you don’t want to seal it completely because, especially during the first week, the lactic acid bacteria will be releasing carbon dioxide, which can build up in your vessel and cause an unwanted disaster. A few options include: 1) covering the opening of your jar with a coffee filter of a piece of cheesecloth, fastened with an elastic band. 2) Using a lid, but keeping it loosely fastened, or making sure to unfasten the lid every day to release the air buildup in your jar. 3) Using a specialized airlock system.
Joëlle
Yields 4 quarts
A delicious ferment to start the new year on the right foot! This kraut has a beautiful pink hue, and tastes incredibly zingy thanks to the lemon and sumac.
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Ingredients
- 1 green cabbage
- 1 red cabbage
- 1 sweet Asian carrot
- 1 red onion
- 4 scallions
- 1 bunch cilantro, chiffonaded (including stems)
- 3 tbsp sumac
- 2 lemons, zest and juice
- 5 tbsp Himalayan or sea salt
Instructions
- Wash your cabbage and remove the outer leaves. Set the leaves aside for later if you don't own fermentation weights, as they can be used to keep your ferment submerged. (see notes above)
- Start by slicing the cabbage very thinly. Transfer all the cabbage to a large glass or stainless steel bowl and mix in the 5 tablespoons of salt. While you prepare the rest of the ingredients, the salt can start to draw out the water from the cabbage, making it easier at the end to stuff the mixture into jars and to submerge it under its own juices.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients, adding them to the large mixing bowl as you go.
- Mix all the ingredients together. At this point, the cabbage should be soft and you should have some liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
- Pack the mixture into mason jars, or your preferred fermentation vessel, making sure to eliminate any air bubbles and to submerge all of the vegetable pieces under their own liquid. I used four quart-sized jars for this recipe.
- Place a fermentation weight on top of the vegetables. Alternatively, press down some cabbage leaves saved in step 1 to keep your vegetables submerged. You can discard these leaves at the end of the fermentation period.
- Cover the jar with a lid, an airlock or a coffee filter or cheesecloth fastened with an elastic band (see notes above)
- Leave the jars out at room temperature for two to three weeks, or until you are happy with the taste, and then transfer them to the fridge.
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References
Katz, S. E. (2012). The art of fermentation an in-depth exploration of essential concepts and processes from around the world. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publ.
