Fermentation and pickling

[RickRolled]

We have used Korean cabbage in a normal jar with loads of Korean chilli, worked a treat in about a week.

[jmorgan]

Thats sort of what I am doing now. Stuffed in a jar but cannot get Korean cabbage so experimenting with sweet cabbage. I can see the changes in the consistency already, texture of ingredients etc. I have just added too much heat for my liking but will see it through some weeks to see what it does more than anything.


The other fermented batch is supposed to be a red cabbage sauerkraut but I seem to have borked it so giving it a day or three to see if it picks up then binning it to try again. I am seeing no activity in it at the moment.

[jmorgan]

Just under a week for the Kilner recipe for kimchi I made. Going to have to bin it, far to hot and unpleasant hot at that. Also not happy with adding white wine vinegar for something that should ferment so suspect this was never going to come out right. The cabbage and carrots though have done well in the texture department.

More sauerkraut to make today to try another recipe and need to order the paste for the kimchi. Easier than making it.

Cotty said:

Thinking of having a go myself. Thought this might be a cheap foot in the door
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lakeland-Fermentation-Jar...

Picked one up in lakeland yesterday. Look OK, when spices arrive I will be trying it out but alongside a kilner with no lock.

Instructions inside the lid recommend using a weight for the first part of the fermentation. Lakeland also sell some glass weights for such.
Not sure this will come out OK
Scanned Documents by Jeff, on Flickr

[Cotty]

jmorgan said:

Instructions inside the lid recommend using a weight for the first part of the fermentation. Lakeland also sell some glass weights for such.

Expensive though at £14.99. I'm sure a weighted ramekin would do the job.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/72690/Pickle-Pebble-Fer...

Edited by Cotty on Saturday 26th May 10:54

[jmorgan]

Anything really (as per instructions on the jar above), reading one site suggests smooth pebbles from the beach or river sterilised. I was on a roll in Lakeland so it went in the basket...........

Edit. That was a US site so suspect the pebbles were from a river that never had industry or pollution. Not sure I would want to try one from around me with the sewer outfalls etc.

Edited by jmorgan on Wednesday 23 May 11:52

[ZedLeg]

Cotty said:

jmorgan said:

Instructions inside the lid recommend using a weight for the first part of the fermentation. Lakeland also sell some glass weights for such.

Expensive thought at £14.99. I'm sure a weighted ramekin would do the job.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/72690/Pickle-Pebble-Fer...

The benefit of the glass ones is that they're easy to keep sterile. You'd have to be very careful what you use if you tried to improvise your own.

[jmorgan]

I suppose boiling the balls will do, used to have some somewhere for making certain pastries.

However, the glass stones are in use now. Two 1ltr Kilner jars all sourkrauted up. No faffing with air locks, just in the jar to see what happens as per a few recipes. Probably an idea for a cloth lid.

I used a mandolin to chop up the cabbage seeing as I have no electric devices that will do it. IT has a safety feature meaning I keep the tips of my fingers but can do 1/4 of a cabbage a time.

The two jars have a pound and a half of cabbage between them. That is an average white cabbage. Ish.

IMG_1464 by Jeff, on Flickr

[Cotty]

ZedLeg said:

The benefit of the glass ones is that they're easy to keep sterile. You'd have to be very careful what you use if you tried to improvise your own.

Good point my ramekins have an unfinished possibly porus bottom. I think the suggestion is you could wrap them in clingfilm but not ideal.
This guy is using the smallest glass mason jar, that you could easily sterilise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_M7s0dLaks

[cbmotorsport]

Have a go at some Giardiniera next. It's lovely.


https://video.bonappetit.com/watch/brad-makes-giar...

Edited by cbmotorsport on Thursday 24th May 14:47

[jmorgan]

cbmotorsport said:

Have a go at some Giardiniera next. It's lovely.

Might want to check the link.

[cbmotorsport]

jmorgan said:

Might want to check the link.

Oops!, thanks. All changed now. :-)

[jmorgan]

^^
Have a look later.

My Korean pepper powder arrived.....

Didn't look at the bag weight. oops.

IMG_1468 by Jeff, on Flickr

[Cotty]

Did that fit through the letterbox?

I heard it was not that hot so it's ok to use a lot.

[jmorgan]

Amazon, came with something else boxed. Ordered a paste as well to try, that comes today. Going to mix this dry stuff up with home grown elephant garlic (need to use it) and ginger. Got a load of radish just come in the market and mix up with carrots and whit cabbage. Brine this time not the Kilner recipe with white wine vinegar.

One batch in the lakeland jar and one in a glass jar no airlock. see what happens.

As to amounts, always believe what someone tells you on the internet..... there is a scale on the back of the packet and this is mid range, But for all I know that range is lava hot to nuclear hot.

Also have a jar of kimchi on the way, just to use as a guide of course......

[madcowman]

I've got a bag of that Korean pepper flake - its not especially hot, but does have a great flavour.

[jmorgan]

That is next. Might go for a table spoon worth then.
Ready made paste arrived.
IMG_1470 by Jeff, on Flickr
Cabbage was in the brine until soft. Three hours or so. 1.5 inch of ginger and several cloves of elephant garlic pureed and two teaspoons of above then mixed in with a big bunch of spring onions and radish.
Turfed out into a bowl for a day. Some say straight in a jar but I fancy this will reduce a tad. Covered with clingfilm in the tub.
IMG_1471 by Jeff, on Flickr

That used half the cabbage. Now going to do the same for the powder flakes.

Edit. My box of disposable gloves are awol so used two freezer bags to cover my hands when mixing.

Edited by jmorgan on Friday 25th May 18:24

[Turn7]

I watche the whole series of John Torrodes Korean trip, and he got me all excited about Kimchi, Gotchujang and all that stuff.

Not tried it myself, but would love to find a decent Korean restaurant nearby...

Keep up the threap chaps, very interesting....

[jmorgan]

Decided the tub bit was a waste unless you are going to leave it there. The cling film I used was pushed down on the mix to exclude air. I should have gone straight for the jars.
IMG_1472 by Jeff, on Flickr
Jar on the left has the powder mix and the jar on the right has the paste. One on the right is a US measure jar 940 ml with a screw lid and a air release in the top instead of the solid disk as you would with jam.

Looking like a single white cabbage would just about go in the left hand jar, I was going to combine but want to see how the flavours compare.

[Cotty]

jmorgan said:

One on the right is a US measure jar 940 ml with a screw lid and a air release in the top instead of the solid disk as you would with jam.

If anyone else is interested its called a Pickle Pipe. £11.99 for the regular Mouth size but £21.95 for t wide mouth size
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01ERZGVVK/?coliid=I1R...

What size is yours? I was thinking of buying the wide mouth jars as they would be easier to get things in and out.

[jmorgan]

Normal mouth, they had the wide jars but only the standard pickle pipe in stock.

I also make jam but forgot about my wide mouth funnel, that might work with the back of a wooden spoon to purseude the thicker stuff. Issue is once it is all mixed up with the final ingredients and how big your final bits are.

But made a slight mess even with the wider jar. Just put a sheet of foil down and bin it after. The mess is not the stuff you want lingering on food prep area in case someone does not like hot stuff mixing in.....