Fermenting

Just finished another batch of home brew hot sauce



Special blend. Spice level is a bit more than Tabasco and has a fruitier profile. This is a hot sauce you gift to friends, not enemies.

 

New Year new jars


Cabbage is dirt cheap this time of year and turns out my 7 year old really likes it. This one is really active and i have to mash it down twice a day to keep it from over flowing.

The middle jar are hot moroccan peppers that are basically my substitute for jalapeños in france. There's a bunch of garlic in the bottom too. Whenever there's a salsa recipe I just substitute this for whatever the equivalent is in the recipe except I leave it raw. I also have a jar of fermented onions going too and it really steps up the salsa. Also good for tacos

The jar on the right mild peppers which I plan on using for sandwiches, hotdogs, burgers, salads, etc. If I want heat I can always just sub in the hot peppers

Going with these screw on jars over lock lids for fermentation for now. I plan on modding the lids to use a waterlock so I don't have to burp them daily.

I'm working on a better protocol for sauerkraut fermentation. A tall narrow jar is ideal to keep everything submerged, however packing all that cabbage traps a lot of gas which will expand. Wider jars have more surface area to allow gas to escape, but can leave food exposed which at best slows down fermentation and at worst exposes it to oxygen and causes mold or fungus.

 

I know this stuff is really popular in slavic countries. I used to buy this for a long time:

https://m.spanish.alibaba.com/p-det...ce-560333470.html?language=spanish&redirect=1

I didn't buy them online, but in small Rumanian or Ucranian stores we have here in Spain. I think also those that sell Bulgarian food carry these.

Digged it a lot, especially those tomatoes. A bit of an acquired taste though. Also it wasn't exactly this brand (there seem to be hundreds out there who make these, alongside local babushkas selling homemade ones outdoors)

 

We the Krauts use earthenware for fermenting. The lid gets weighed down by stones. Maybe there are potteries in Alsace, too who make such devices, I could only find a German site (rather nice because of the many different sizes available):

https://steinzeug-schmitt.de/gaertoepfe-einmachtoepfe-c-23.html

course you can‘t see the goods

 

I have second thoughts, not too big a fan of sauerkraut but some 15 years ago I was on a business trip in Korea for several days and I really liked kimchi, even had it for breakfast. Besides @scblock recipe are there other SBAFs with suggestions?

 

According to my Korean friends, every family has a different recipe and their mom always makes the best one.

I'll see if I can get a recipe from someone

 

Finally have some A++ pickles



Next step is salsa Americana

 

The latest posts reminded me to go down to the basement and harvest my sauerkraut. A bit late, but it will be fine. My 4th batch this year. Click the pics for some detail.

 

^ just curious - does sauerkraut still ferment "normally" at altitude in CO?

 

Yup, no problem at all. Average temp in basement over the last month about 67 F.
I would suggest that time is the most important thing and 6 + weeks is best for my palate.

Still eating an earlier batch minus jalapeno and it is great 2+ months under refrigeration.

 

Just saw this. Anyone else want to audit this with me sometime this month or next - would be nice to be able to review and bounce ideas, etc.

https://www.edx.org/course/fermentation-cooking-with-microbes

 

Starts today! I’m going to sign up

 

The Jalapeno Sauerkraut came out great and seemed less salty than the last batch, which my son reminded me, had garlic in it. At Thanksgiving all 3 kids went home with jars of the new harvest (batch) which was about 12 weeks of fermenting.