Fermented food is the missing food group, but has the fear of the unknown put us off fermenting? How did Joshua’s wife ferment and what equipment did she use? Is fermented fruit and vegetables safer and healthier than eating raw?
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start the ‘ball’ rolling…do you mean ball jars? ha ha
now that i’v elistened…the above ‘ball’ jars is the brand name for mason jars in my area. may not be in your neck of the woods
eagerly awaiting the arrival of kefir grains!
Shalom Ellen!! Thank you so much for listening!!
Shalom Mark!!
Oooo how exciting!! Please keep me posted and if you need any help or have any questions please write KulturedKaraite@gmail.com and I will be happy to help!! You will come to love those health making little guys!!
Thank you for listening!
Dev
How can I obtain these grains ? I must try this. Grow a large garden and this sounds like the best way to preserve my crop.
Just a word of caution. If you skim off the mold it has long, sometimes very long roots and you might not get all the mold. Just because you don’t get ‘sick’ doesn’t mean it’s not doing your body harm. It might make you more tired as your body is fighting this and you might think it’s tired because you didn’t get enough sleep etc. You get the drift.
Also, sometimes we think of cultures that aren’t as rich and sophisticated as ours as backwards when all along they know more about all these natural things and how to make sure that no oxygen get in the ferment than we do.
I absolutely enjoy all these cultured shows! no pun intended. lol
Keep them rolling..
Shalom Tod,
You don’t need kefir grains to ferment vegetables. Milk kefir is the very BEST thing you can do for your body along with fermented vegetables. You can obtain healthy live grains from KefirGrains4U.blogspot.com
You can also find a wealth of info at KulturedKaraite.blogspot.com I explain how you can use whey obtained from making kefir cheese and then use that to help ferment vegetables but you would never use over 3 Tablespoons of whey for a jar. You can ferment vegetables simply by using good spring or filtered water and a little salt.
Happy fermenting!! And don’t hesitate to write me if you have questions KulturedKaraite@gmail.com
Shalom,
Dev
Shalom Sheryl,
You are absolutely right about the mold and if I did not make that clear I am so sorry. Mold does grow “tendrils” downward and you must be careful of it. Sterilizing the jar first helps that greatly and keeping the veggie completely submerged.
Lea at http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2012/05/27/sauerkraut-survivor-getting-ready/
is doing an HUGE experiment on fermenting so that she can report the results. She is fermenting in almost every way known to man!! She will publish her results on each method.
In the mean time thank you for listening and commenting!
Shalom,
Dev
Hi Devorah! I have the absolute worst time trying to ferment. Cannot tell you how much has actually ended up in the compost pile rather than on my plate. The last batch of cabbage was thrown because it had a very, very strange flavor. The time before I managed to get a good batch, I put it into quart jars (the extra) and set it in my cellar where it is cool. The last jar I opened had black mold growing all over the top. I removed about a half of the quart and the rest tastes o.k.
I get off tasting kraut and soft mushy kraut…and I am using the German crock thing that is so expensive. Any ideas you have would be wholeheartedly appreciated.
Shalom Carole,
I am so very sorry to hear this. I realize I have been extremely fortunate and honestly can not explain it but I have never had a failed ferment….yet. I do know it happens. I only use the Ball/Mason jars and bands and lids. I do it on my kitchen counter or bench as Channi says and not in the dark either. Cooler temp does slow down the fermentation process so that could be a factor and that would give time for mold to grow before its fermented.
Sandor Katz states that you can or will get mold with the crock method and he says just scoop off the mold and a layer or so. However, you need to know mold has tendrils or roots it sends straight down so removing a couple of inches would be better.
I am sort of stumped as to what to tell you except to try a different method and different container. Keep the veggie under the brine with weights of some sort, I use rocks. Let it sit where the temp is warmer and if you want it in the dark specifically, wrap the vessel in a towel.
Keeping the fermented veggie in the cool and dark AFTER it’s fermented is what needs to happen. It will still continue to ferment but at a much, much slower rate. That’s why I, and most, refrigerate. But get it fermented and stable first, that’s what will keep the mold at bay.
Please check out this: http://kulturedkaraite.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html
and this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tnpOgKtbJS8
Please keep me posted and please write to me KulturedKaraite@gmail.com I am very interested to get you going in a better direction. I don’t want anyone discouraged with fermenting!
Shalom,
Dev
Wow, this is the first I’ve heard of fermenting. I know about Kimshi and I love Kefir. I have been drinking goat’s milk kefir since I can’t drink cow’s milk. But I was afraid of gaining weight so I quit. I never knew you could do it yourself. Do you use raw milk? I have no way of obtaining that living in the city. Is it really that healthy? I have a lot of questions….
What a timely message for me, Dev! I’ve just made my second batch of sauerkraut in two one quart jars. One had a bit of white mold on top, and in the other the water turned gray. I was wondering what to do, and now I have the answer! The gray one is gone and the rest of the white one is delicious. Thanks! Kevin
Thanks for sharing my link! I posted a couple of more updates today in preparation for tomorrow – Day 1 of testing!
I just wanted to emphasize the danger of mold. Tendrils can be as long as your ferment, so simply scraping off the top, even the top few inches won’t grab it all. Also, mold is a huge red flag that there is too much oxygen getting to your ferment. You want to try a different jar.
Love your programs!!
I highly recommend the plain Fido jars. These are the jars Pickl-Its are based on. You can get a 1 liter jar for just $4.95 here: http://tiny.cc/o6mgfw. The gasket works as an airlock.
Shalom Lea,
Thanks for the great info!! Thank you for listening too!!
Dev