As in the previous threads, this is all about the fermentation, long term storage, curing, home hooch concocting...

>implying there's a difference

YOU mean east-asian, Asia's got more than one cardinal direction

Anything yellow

So my carrots really build up pressure, if I want I can let gas out every 2-3 hour and I can see tiny bubbles in the liquid.

How long should I leave it like this?

what basic recipes can i try out if i am not to hot on sour foods?

I know you can ferment or pickle plums, but the flavor is... interesting.

Kwas/Gira

What is a normal fermentation time, or do you guys wait for the CO2 production to drop

Depends a LOT on the food and the temperature. Like hot peppers or garlic honey takes months upon months, where as sauerkraut goes through all 3 stages of fermentation in about a month, but you can eat it with a week

Also this is your hot sauce friend back from months past, still not dead but my ferments kept getting fucked up for like 4 months straight

Trying some non-lacto fermented hotsauces. This time, peppers I'm honey (similar to garlic in honey). These are habeneroes

I love fermenting carrots, cabbage, and hot sauce. Haven't tried beets yet. May do some red cabbage and garlic tomorrow...

tesco's komodo dragon peppers can be pretty hot. they're clocked in at a million and a half scovilles, but they are inconsistent cause ive munched a few and barely broke a sweat. still, they give a good kick when fermented

I started some jalapenos in honey also, but I just pureed them out of boredom to see if it speeds up their fermentation at all

Anyone got any tips for pickling boiled eggs? I've never eaten pickled eggs or made them before but I like pickles and I like hard boiled eggs but I don't like botulism

My weird ass dad showed my his weird kombucha early 90's that he got from a friend. I've been brewing and flavoring it after it's brewed with essentially random choices celestial seasonings concentrated tea. I just make it from what you buy in the store; slowing increasing the volume. it's best to avoid metal because it kills it but other than the reason komucha is expensive is because people are dumb as shit. I should make a line of kombucha called call "the koolest bucha"

Here's a new image for the thread.

I was the original creator of the FSG threads. Thanks for keeping it going. Been busy with work lately and haven't had time to make new threads. Got some new ferments in the works though.

going to the market in 10 minutes. anyone want to post a recipe? i need 2 more. so far i just have the carrots with ginger and the red onions.

made this.

to much ginger with the carrots?

I remade them a few times last week but that pic is saved for next time

is there ever enough ginger?

also do i need to wash my fermented stuff after a few weeks when i go eat them?
to get rid of the salt

after peeling them i also wonder if i fucked up all my previous recipes that required ginger. i never peeled them before grating them into my frying pans.
should i always peel them or is that just for some cases.

whatever floats your boat, I peel it but the skin shouldn't hurt you at all

p.s. my carrots are really bubbling nicely and that kimchi is also starting to show some bubbles. I'm starting to get excited to taste this stuff

The skin actually has a lot of natural yeast on it which could benefit fermentation.

best thing to do with the onions afterwards?
i assume i cant use them in my fried rice meals since it will destroy all the healthy bacteria.

well like you CAN, nothings stopping you, but you dont NEED to. Do you rinse off store bought pickles? just personal preference

put them on burgers

Who cares, enjoy the food!

So how do the onions taste like, somewhat sour onion seems like a great idea for a burger

any more experienced peeps know how long i should ferment these different pots?

Does this kraut look sauer or chock full of botulism?
I just sort of winged it with the salt.
The little brown bits are carraway

Hi OP, I lurk but like what you're doing, don't give up.

t. home brewer

>bubbles

Well, at least it's fermenting. I think you cut it way too thick and didn't use enough cabbage. I think it still might be good just based on how the bubbles look. Just make sure you test it appropriately before you eat it, and everything should be good.

>might be good
Jesus don't be such a pussy, gonna tell him to use ph strips also?

It will be fine. The thicker cut will lead to a longer ferment, but a crunchier product, something I prefer. The chance of botulism are fucking low as shit, and if worst comes to worst you just get medical attention and you won't even die.

>test it appropriately
How do you mean

I promised I'd post pics of my kimchi like 2 threads ago. Here's the finished product in poor lighting: I can post the ingredients and pics of such if anyone's interested.

Go for it, would love to know hoe to make it

Did you already eat from it? Because not everything is submerged

Tips on fermenting without killing myself? I'm completely retarded but I like me those Japanese pickled radishes

looks good, please poast ingred thanks

Not that guy but from what I see it has chili and mustard seed

this
how?

Kimchi and carrot update day 4 or something.

Both are bubbling like crazy. The carrots have this whitish coating on the bottom of the jar as many people have mentioned. I think i'll throw them in the fridge after the weekend to slow down the bacteria. Every day I expect to find an exploded jar

for the pot with onions.
most of the time parts of it will float to the top.

so what i do is just turn the pot upside down so its covered with the brine again every so often.

will this prevent molt or do i really need something to push it down if i have lots of loose parts.

How to test has already been mentioned in the thread.

I'm mistaken. It was mentioned last thread. See below.

Visual test: Unfamiliar fuzzies
Smell test: Smells pleasant, and not spoiled
Taste test: Small piece on your tongue to test for bad flavor

how do i make my own scoby for kombucha?

Think more yellow-Asian, and less trying-to-rape-your-daughter-Asian.

So I tried to make some sauerkraut but it didn't work. It turned the right color but it was very crunchy and didn't quite have the right taste. I put it in a plastic container with a piece of cheese cloth rubber banded on top. I never saw any active fermentation, just a few bubbles if I tapped the container. It was in a dark corner.

I followed the directions I found online, but I am thinking it had too much air? Do I need to use one of those fermenters that just allow air and gas to escape?

You don't need to use an airlock, but it sounds like you need to give your lacto a bit more to eat. You didn't post what recipe you use, but I imagine it could have benefited from additional sugar to your recipe. Lactobacillus feeds off sugar and farts carbon dioxide. If there's not enough food for the lacto they're not going to be able to fill your jar with gasses and create a fully anaerobic environment. If you didn't add any, I would add a few table spoons of sugar. If you did add some, I would add more.

don't forget the beheading

never made sauerkraut myself but the lacto bacteria prefer oxygen free environments, a piece of cloth will absolutely let oxygen in.

Of course they're going to behead her. Only a dishonorable whore would go out and get raped, and dishonorable whores get beheaded.

>Of course they're going to behead her. Only a dishonorable whore would go out and get raped, and dishonorable whores get beheaded.

lol what? wrong thread? you /pol/ fucks need to stop browsing Veeky Forums. why the fuck do you even come here in the first place? what is your obsession of trolling food boards?

Can you detail the recipe and what you did? Cheesecloth works fine.

It will let air in to the airspace above the brine sure, but that doesn't make a difference, the bacteria is in the liquid.

You shouldn't need sugar in sauerkraut, there's plenty of food in straight cabbage.

>It will let air in to the airspace above the brine sure, but that doesn't make a difference, the bacteria is in the liquid.

That's not how lacto fermenting works user.

I never even go to /pol/ and it ain't trolling if it is a fact.

>It will let air in to the airspace above the brine sure, but that doesn't make a difference, the bacteria is in the liquid.

if that was the case all fish would die because oxygen wouldn't dissolve into the water

Yes it is. I have made kraut with cheesecloth and you could put nothing above it and it would work perfectly fine. You cover it so to keep out the stuff that is in the air. With cheesecloth you may get some yeast or mold growth on the surface because of the available air, but it will have no effect on the fermentation itself.

>Yes it is. I have made kraut with cheesecloth and you could put nothing above it and it would work perfectly fine.

>every environment is the same
>every method works for everyone

Liking your own conditions to the conditions of another is the sign of an amateur cook.

Are you kidding me with this crap? I'm explaining to you how fermentation works because you think having air above the brine is a problem, not saying my conditions are his conditions. Open fermentation of sauerkraut has been used for thousands of god damn years all over the world. Not using an airlock is almost surely not this guy's problem. Sorry you didn't know how fermentation works.

I don't think I added any sugar, it was just salt. I will try sugar next time, thanks.

It was a few months ago, but I believe it was just cabbage and salt worked into it by hand. I packed it into the container, threw on the cheese cloth and let it sit for two weeks. It was crunchy at every step and didn't have a good sauerkrat taste.

The most common problems with sauerkraut are generally not enough time, non-ideal salinity, and non-optimal temperate. 2 weeks should be enough to get some sour taste (although it varies based on the other two factors, I personally do 3 weeks with mine). Use a scale and do your salt amount by weight of the cabbage not volume. Temperate can be forgiving, but it definitely effect speed and flavor. Try to keep it in the 60s F.

how much salt per 100g cabbage?

I'd recommend start with 2g. Depending on how that batch goes you may want to adjust up or down a bit to your taste, but 2% is generally the base starting point.

what is that, jenkem?

anything else you do or just shred cabbage and ad 2g salt per 100 gram then cover in water?

can i add more water to my pots after some evaporated?

You usually don't need any water. Add the salt to the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and massage the salt into the cabbage with your hands for about 10 minutes. The water in the cabbage will come out to create your brine. Add your flavoring, such as juniper berries, pack it all including the liquid produced down tightly into a jar and weigh it down with something, such as a smaller jar. I usually cut a washed outer leaf to jar size and put it on top of the shredded cabbage, under the weight, to provide full coverage so nothing sneaks above the brine.

Addendum: If you do feel the need to add water, make make a 2% brine and add that, you don't want to mess up the salinity.

Do people in this thread make cheese ? I got some books on how to make it and a 'Cheese Making Kit'
Can anyone encourage or discourage me from taking up the art ?

how much heat can the bacteria stand?
my main goal for fermenting is to get a healthy gut.

could i stuff my deboned chicken with fermented onions for example and would the bacteria survive the oven when they are inside the chicken.

No, they would not survive. Killing bacteria is one of the primary objectives of cooking.

so the only way to use them in cooking is at the very end of sauces or pan fried stuff with the heat turned off.

Yes my family ate some, this was 3 days after when the fermentation was started and the jar was put in the fridge for long term storage.

Vegetable matter:
1 head napa cabbage
~1 lb mustard greens
1 daikon radish
1 carrot
3 very small purple carrots
1 bunch green onions

Chili paste:
1/4 cup homemade thai chili paste (roasted blitzed thai chilies with a few scant garlic cloves and a roasted bell pepper or two)
1 tblspn fresh ginger, smashed and chopped
1 tspn galangal smashed and chopped
1 tspn sugar
10 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion minced to death
5 anchovies chopped into a paste

You salt your greens for a few hours, turning them to ensure salt keeps pulling water out. I left mine overnight. Then you rinse and drain the greens and chop your other vegetables.

Put some gloves on, then mix your paste. Ready your jars and apply paste to each piece of cabbage/mustard and mix in the other chopped veggies as you go. Leave on the counter for 3 days, mixing or turning as it ferments to ensure all the liquids and flavors mingle.

I made a split second decision to make my kimchi paste spicier with cayenne and make the red pop with some paprika. Had I saved more of my initial thai pepper paste, that would not be necessary.

My mother is very finicky about fish flavor, and so anchovies have been my new favorite way to add non-offensive umami flavor. No one suspects they're in the finished product.

Lastly, since I've started making kimchi I always save about a tablespoon of strained liquid from the last batch to kick-start the right bacteria. My initial batch did not have this and turned out fine though.

What's a retard-proof way to avoid Botulism?

I have wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, are either of those good for fermenting?

Top tier thread, I wanna try making kombucha. Gunpowder green tea is cheap.

same. just trying to find out how to make a SCOBY

let me know how this goes.

Not in my opinion. If you salted it the right amount for the ferment, then it should be good to taste right out of the jar.

Theoretically you can eat them any time, but I begin tasting them periodically after you begin noticing the bubbles begin to slow or stop. Usually within the first two weeks. After that, they'll just develop more and more, and preserve for months.

I had fermented chipotle chiles that sat in a jar at room temperature for a year, then refrigerated it. I still use it from time to time in recipes after two years.

Fuck yeah kimchi. I made 10 lbs of kimchi and gave it to my family and coworkers for christmas.

Fermenting for the most part is idiot-proof. If your veggies stay submerged in an even remotely salted solution, then for better or worse the lacto bacteria will both outcompete all bad bacteria for nutrients as well as drop the pH too low for bacteria to thrive. Just throw veggies in a brine, keep them submerged, and wa la.

Here are my current ferments. Garlic and honey on the left, kombucha in the center and right.

can you make kombucha without the scoby?

Also here's some of the kimchi I made. Kimchi might be the best fermented food I've ever discovered.

Napa cabbage
Daikon raddish
Green onion
Garlic
Ginger
Fish Sauce
Oysters (with juice)
korean red pepper powder

That's it. Salt the cabbage for two hours, rinse several times, combine garlic/ginger/fish sauce/pepper powder into a paste, combine the rest and let sit for 5 days. Best shit ever.

Theoretically you can, but it's not fool-proof. Exposing sweet tea to the elements will invite the bacteria that converts it into kombucha. However, I've never had success that way. The one time I tried, it just straight up spoiled.

You can just buy a store-bought kombucha, save the sediment at the bottom and drop it into a jar of sweet tea. You'll have your own scoby in a matter of a week or two. I did that two years ago and never had to do it again because I just recycle the scoby over and over.

do you do the second ferment part with added fruit?

If your kombucha has fully completed primary, then it won't produce enough co2 to carbonate in bottles. That's where it helps to add your fruit in primary, so that the fruit juice sparks added fermentation, produces co2, and carbonates your bottles.

However, that can get tricky. You can add fruit to begin secondary fermentation but you want the bulk of fermentation to be in the jar and not in your bottles. You want to bottle roughly 5 days after adding the fruit, then let your bottles sit for another week. That should create enough carbonation in the bottles, but you should refrigerate them as soon as they're nicely carbed because they'll keep carbonating and create bombs if you don't.

OR you can just make 5 gallons of kombucha and carbonate it in a keg like I do :)

Here's my mother up close. I usually have a fuckload of scobies but I dehydrated a bunch of them and fed them to my dogs.

Okay so basically since mine has been made 4 days ago I could taste it? Wont you wash away all the salt needed by washing the cabage?

I'd tear that shit up.

You need to rinse the salt off or it would be awful. The salt leaches water out of the vegetable, but the osmosis makes it so some salt enters the veggies too. You rinse off the excess and the fish sauce/oyster sauce/fish or shellfish product will add some salt back. Trust us.

If I like this fermented stuff i'll retry with a proper kimchi, for now let's see what this gets me.

so you like basic kombucha the best?

also how can you ferment in a keg? first isnt that metal gonna oxidize? second how do you know how the SCOBY is looking like in your keg

think i will buy this plus a couple of bottles for my first kombucha

Found another jar, I'm going to try onions in it I think. Any fun recipes?