Sunday, July 1, 2012

lacto-fermentation

What I've been playing with lately--- lacto-fermentation.  I love learning a new way to do things myself.  Sauerkraut could not be easier.  The hardest part is finding a crock appropriate for fermenting.  You can do it in a quart mason jar, but it is usually done in bigger pots.  Look at the thrift store for a straight sided ceramic cookie jar (or something similar).  Shred up the head of cabbage, salting it with sea salt and pounding it down into the crock with a meat pounder.  The released juices should rise above the shreds if you keep pounding long enough.  Add some whey (from making regular yogurt into "yogurt cheese") a few tablespoons.  Weight down the cabbage so that the shreds are below the juices.  This is generally done with a plate and a rock on top of the plate.  If your juices don't quite cover the cabbage add some distilled water until the juices do cover the shreds.  Put a cloth cover over and hide in a dark place for  few days to a few weeks.  When it is done to your desired level of fermenting put in the fridge.  Our first attempt tasted, dead-on, like the kimchi we got from the Korean restaurant.  Seriously, this is easy.