I am finally starting to catch up a bit with some postings I wanted to make. Today, I will share how I made this Sauerkraut and fermented Cauliflower and Carrots.
I did this batch on December 7th and both of them have fermented to my liking and have been jarred and put into the refrigerator.
Sauerkraut
The process is so simple that I often wonder why more people do not ferment their own, especially since homemade is packed full of wonderful probiotics to enhance your gut biome.
Shred
Choose a large head of Cabbage and peel off the outer leaves saving one for the jar to cover the slaw. After removing the core from the head, slice your cabbage into very thin shreds, I use a mandolin to do mine which keeps the slices the same thickness.
Salt
Layer the shredded cabbage into a large bowl sprinkling with sea salt as you go. This will begin to break down the structure of the shreds and release some of the natural liquid.
Pound
After about 15 minutes you can begin massaging the cabbage with your hands or use a wooden pounding tool to help the cabbage release its own brine.
Fill the Jar
Begin packing the cabbage into a sterilized glass container.
Pack Tightly
Be sure to press it down tightly as you fill the jars to remove any air pockets.
Add Brine
Continue filling the jar leaving about 1 1/2" headspace. Pour all the brine created by pounding the cabbage in the jar until it is all submerged.
.jpg)
Trim the reserved cabbage leaf to the size of the jar's opening and place it on top of the cabbage. I add a glass weight on top of the leaf to keep all the cabbage under the brine during the fermenting stage. This helps to reduce the risk of any cabbage floating to the top and becoming moldy.
Place your jar on the countertop out of direct sunlight for 3 - 5 weeks depending on how sour you like it to become.
After a few days, you should begin to see some bubbles begin to rise to the surface. This is a great sign that the cabbage has started the fermenting process perfectly.
Every few days I take the lid off and poke a chopstick down the sides of the jar to release some of the built-up gases. Also, to be safe you can place the jar on top of a plate to catch any overflow that may spill out of the jar.
The bubbles will start to subside after 5 or 6 days but the fermenting process will continue. The longer you leave sauerkraut out at room temperature the sourer it will become, it is totally your preference.
Within 10 days or so you should begin to see a slight color change in the cabbage itself. I begin tasting mine at this point. I ended up leaving it out on the counter until the middle of January before I put it into smaller jars. I could have left it longer but I tend not to like it too sour.
Lunch
It was so nice to finally have some fresh, homemade sauerkraut once again. I had run out before Thanksgiving and I could tell the difference in my stomach from the lack of fermented vegetables.
My system is so used to having them every few days that I can feel the change once I don't have any to consume. I swear, it really makes a huge difference in keeping my acid reflux in check.
Since I started fermenting two years ago my gut has been healing from all the abuse from ingesting so many painkillers, NSAIDS, and acid-reducing medications.
Eating just 2 Tablespoons every day will give you the wonderful probiotics to help heal your digestive tract.
Cauliflower and Carrots
Brine
4 cups distilled or spring water
2 Tablespoons Sea Salt
Boil the water and add salt stirring until dissolved, set aside.
Chop a head of Cauliflower into small florets and thinly slice two carrots. I also added a large onion thinly sliced to this batch.
Fill Jar
Add the vegetables to your fermenting jar packing it down tightly to remove air pockets.
Add Brine
Fill the jar with the cooled brine and then top the veggies with a cabbage leaf. Place a fermenting weight on top to keep the veggies below the brine. Cover and place on your countertop to ferment.
The fermenting process will be the same as with making the sauerkraut. Be sure to take off the cover every few days to release some of the gases from the jar.
.jpg)
When you feel the veggies have fermented enough to your liking, it is time to put them into smaller jars and place them in the refrigerator.
Lunch
Adding the fermented vegetables to my salad added some extra zip to lunch. It is wonderful to have the ferments back in my diet again.
I hope this inspires some of you to make your own fermented food to aid you in achieving a healthier gut biome.
Until next time, this is Sunscape
Sun. Scape. Ing Your Day
They look absolutely yummy.
Love them with vegetable fried rice.
To cauliflower and carrots, we usually also add turnips and beetroots... & the beets leave lovely red-purple color to the brine.
Thanks for sharing your recipes @sunscape
Cheers!!!
Extra added vitamins and nutrients with a splash of color by adding the turnips and beetroots. The more healthy, the better!
Hey Nina! Many a thanks your reply.
Definitely... The healthier...the better!!!
Cheers! :)
Nice, next time I will add beets. I am a huge fan of turnip too and never thought of that one. Now I will have to experiment. Thanks for sharing.
Yes... you should definitely give it a try! The flavours will get enhanced too! Hope you will love the beets.
Perhaps you can gently steam them for 2-3 minutes to tender them and then add to the brine.
I keep on experimenting with various ingredients to get some amazing delicious outcomes.
I will definitely do that with the beets. I love them and have a great recipe for pickling them. The recipe is in this post:
https://hive.blog/hive-114308/@sunscape/recipes-for-preparing-mint-jelly-raspberry-jam-and-spicy-beetroot-by-sunscape
Fermented foods are indeed a miracle food for our guts! I haven’t tried sauerkraut myself yet, but I brought back a few good size jars that I bought at street market in Poland. Seeing how easy it is to make my own, I might try it myself too!
I do however make my own kefir and like you, I can feel the difference if I don’t drink it for couple days.
It is amazing how different I feel if I have not had some for a while. I make my own Kombucha too and drink that almost daily. Glad you are doing so much to help your gut heath too.
You've inspired me to make my own Sauerkraut especially as it's helped your reflux which is something I take medication for, would love to stop taking anything!
I have been on Omeprazole for 5 years and I just stopped taking it on my own. My reflux is slowly calming down with all the good veggies and Kombucha I have daily. If it acts up I just take a Tums now and it has been almost a month and I can see the difference already.
Good afternoon dear friend @sunscape
How great it is to see that you process your own food, I appreciate that you let us know the preparation process
The salad looks tempting, you will undoubtedly have enjoyed it.
Have a beautiful afternoon
Hi @jlufer I do my best to prepare very healthy foods for myself and my husband. Growing our own food makes a huge difference and eating healthier has really made us both feel stronger. Have a wonderful week my friend. I appreciate your support, always.
You made this look so easy, I need to investigate!
I find it very easy and there are so many videos on YouTube and recipes online that really help.
Thank you @ackhoo for your awesome support as always.
Thank you @ackhoo for your awesome support as always.
!LOL
lolztoken.com
He was convicted for mass murder.
Credit: reddit
@sunscape, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of phillarecette
(5/10)
Farm LOLZ tokens when you Delegate Hive or Hive Tokens.
Click to delegate: 10 - 20 - 50 - 100 HP
Hello friend, what a delicious and versatile recipe, I love fermented vegetables because they are stronger in flavor and super practical at snack time or to offer to a visitor with some cookies or bread, really delicious. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes. Greetings!
These look so good! I was all ready to make sauerkraut this fall when I got COVID. By the time I was well enough, the cabbage had frozen.
The healthier thing ever! Full of probiotics and good stuff for our gut flora 😊