Fermenting

Kimchi (kimchee kimchy chemchee whatever) prep is GO:

Veg bits are soaking in brine, and the onion/garlic/ginger/pepper flake/fish sauce mix is ready to go:

Stupid onion made me cry.

10 Likes

Bugger. Thatā€™s gonna limit things. :frowning2:

Bummer! My sisterā€™s apartment gets pretty warm, so she had to postpone her fermentation plans for a bit. I guess you could still do it, but the results probably wouldnā€™t be ideal.

1 Like

Got about 3 weeks tops maybe.
Indoor summer temperatures can easy hit 45C+ and springā€™s just on itā€™s way.

1 Like

Done!

My fingers are delicious right now.

10 Likes

Wait a minuteā€¦ are you a time traveler or something? Itā€™s almost autumn, silly! :upside_down:

4 Likes

ā€¦É˜miʚ ni ŹžÉ”uʚĘØnu ɘmoɔɘd ɘvɒŹœ I

8 Likes

I think @M_M might live on the southern half of the dirtball and it would indeed be getting close to spring for those folk.

5 Likes

The hell you say.

6 Likes

Thatā€™s crazy talk. Weā€™d all fall off if anyone lived here.

10 Likes

My boyfriend started off making kraut with a food-grade plastic bucket; his trick for keeping the cabbage submerged was to put a plate on top, and invert an appropriately-sized cup or glass on top of the plate so that it would be pressed down by the lid. If you decide you love having homemade kraut, then investing in a real crock with a water seal is worth it, but the bucket will be fine for a while.

4 Likes

Good to hear. :slight_smile:
I made beer for years in one and I just figured fermenting is all the same, broadly speaking. Like, grains really want to become beer, I figure cabbage also wants to be kraut.
The temperature could prove to be something of a barrier though. Best get started quick before it starts to really warm up.

4 Likes

One of the YouTube videos I watched before I started shows waiting an hour after initially mixing in the salt before massaging the cabbage. Iā€™ve been doing that. Since I havenā€™t done kraut without the wait, I donā€™t know how much it helps but I like the flow. I use the time to re-sanitize my jars and stuff.

2 Likes

Seattle kombucha celebration!! :slight_smile:

10 Likes

Surely, they have one!

Tested the beets yesterday:

Not quite ready yet. And Iā€™m thinking I should have added that pickling spice blend to the beets when I started 'em. Is it too late to add it?

5 Likes

Where/how do you get your SCOBY? I love kombucha and would like to try making it at home.

(this coming week my Library in conjunction with Seattle Tilth is offering a Kombucha class - yay!)

3 Likes

Buckets can work fine, I had a rolling batch of kimchi going for awhile in one. Temp is an issue, Iā€™ve done it in up to 32Ā°C, but it can get away from you in just a few hours. The cabbage was almost carbonated, it was weird in a way I donā€™t think I want to revisit.

Keep an eye on it and quick trips to the fridge to retard it when you need. Overnights are probably best in the fridge as well if it doesnā€™t cool down with the sunset there.

This batch fermented at 29.5Ā° and is going into the fridge to mellow for a few weeks to dull some of the harsher flavors from the fast ferment.

7 Likes

Well ā€¦ Iā€™m glad you asked! First, we researched how to grow one because we were curious ā€¦ including asking very helpful folks in this thread.

Then we got impatient and bought one from a vendor in CA we found at the Maker Faire in San Mateo.

THEN, after we came to Seattle, we bought a new one from a super nice vendor we met at the Ballard Farmers Market.

The class sounds super fun btw ā€¦

3 Likes

Darn it, I tasted my kimchi and itā€™s a tad too salty. Guess I didnā€™t rinse it well enough after the initial soak. BOOOOOOOOO.

3 Likes