Fermenting Experiments
Last year, when we could travel the world freely, we found ourselves spending a week on this amazing and super well organized sustainability education center called Rancho Mastatal.
Check it out here, it was really inspiring for us and I'm sure it will be for a whole lot of you too: https://steempeak.com/permaculture/@senorcoconut/costa-rica-let-s-visit-a-sustainability-education-center
One of their main subject in sustainability is food, growing it through agro-forestry, permaculture and experimenting with all kinds of different ferments, both for conservation and health.
So as you could imagine, every meal was served with a choice of two or three fermented yumny goodness to pick from and that was when I got hooked.
Experimentation time!
I had had kimchi and sauerkraut before but there was also a very familiar taste in lacto-fermentation, something I still can't put my finger on but I know that I know it. Maybe it was something my grandmothers use to make.
So I had a few tries with simple cabbag, carrot and cauliflower ferments and I eventually got it just about right. The next problem to tackle was to not eat it all before starting another batch...
With this pandemic I decided to make more of it, more often. So, right now we have one in the fridge, a small jar of radishes going, a big jar of daikan radishes going and I finally tried a kimchi... courtesy of @artemislives, a recipe that you will find here: Building Immunity with Kimchi - Kpop, Resistant 15 Year Olds & Things to Do In #Covid19 Lockdown
I used what we had on hand and so the recipe has been properly butchered but hey, it is an experiment and we're in the middle of an apocalypse!
We had a red cabbage, and I chopped it smaller than I should have, and as for scallions, I went out in the woods to get them ('tis the season).
We had an old piece of ginger that was just enough a bit of garlic and instead of fish sauce (wich I wish we had... I love the stuff!) I used Bragg's Amino acids, a soy sauce substitute made from soy. I'm not sure how the stuff isn't soy sauce, do you?
Probably not the best julian job, but I think that'll work 😁.
A couple hours later I mixed it all up by hand, the paste, the veggies and put it in a large jar.
Haha, doesn't look at all like kimchi but it smells really nice. I can't wait to try it.
Thank you for the recipe @Artemislives I will try again with the right ingredients eventually!
What has your experiences been like in your fermentation journey? I would love to hear from you.
I miss fermenting in Cambodia. We mostly made ginger bug drinks, fermented noni juice and fermented hot sauces.
it all sound delicious!!!
Must be a fermenting kinda month! @artemislives just wrote a great post on fermenting too! Must be a sign - gotta get chopping cabbage!
Better get choppin! Yeah @artemislives' article on kimchi is what instired me.
❤️❤️❤️
It's such a n amazing way to both preserve food AND boost our natural health!
Inspiring to see your enthusiasm for fermenting!
I had tried a batch of sauerkraute a long time ago but it was such a disaster I never did it again! Now with these changing times I think having a good stock of fermented foods would be a good thin!
I'd like to get a real nice crock for suarerkraut but until then I do have some real big pickle jars i could use.
Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome @porters and good to hear from you... I have been pretty much absent from the blogging world, so I have a lot of catching up to do with everyone I met through it!
Defenitely give that sauerkraut a try again, my very first one (years ago) was also a disaster.
I hope you're well and staying safe.
Yes we are fine! We live a rather isolated life back here in the forest anyways and are always well prepared for if we get snowed in or something so we have all we need!
Hope you are well too! Are you working on your homestead?
Yes yes we are well too. We always had loads of food from buying duplacate things without thinking... a bit unorganized but we have been prepping in our own way.
I am so greatfull we had decided to move to the forest when we did. We've been as busy as can be getting ready for next winter on thw homestead!!!!
Good to hear you are well, I figured you were but still 😁.
Aaaw - this post gave me happy smiles. As Miss 15 informed me on coming back from Korea, there are ALL SORTS of kimchis. The family she stayed with had a special kimchi fridge even. LOL. What I loved most was the custom that she brough back to serve 2 or 3 elegant little side dish bowls of fermented goodness. It's so Korean-Japanese and so elegant.
Keep it happening. I'm going to try a spicy green mango ferment soon.... :) And lacto-fermented cauliflower. Right now I have kimchi, sauerkraut and dill pickles brewing.
How NICE that we can inspire each other, hey?? 😍😘
Yeah super nice! The cauliflower is really nice with carrots and red cabbage... or all on it's own as it stays crunchy!
I love the idea of serving those little dishes. That's very cute.
That looks great, I’ve been fermenting a lot lately too, fermented cabbage is just magical for some reason. I’m pretty sure i could survive in kimchi and krout for a good length of time...
haha yeah I think I could survive on the stuff too!
Awesome post dude. I've been eating kimchi for the past 4 months as part of a targeted treatment for gut issues and so far so good.
I gotta get to making my own soon instead of buying it!
Thanks!!! It is super easy to make, the hardest part is actually getting started. Plus you can make your own cheap and with good ingredients.
Look up that recipe from @artemislives, she's an expert on the subject.
blushing over here in Thailand - thanks @senorcoconut x