Harvest Bounty and Traditional Fermentation: Photo Essay

harvest-bounty-1

October is the last month of operation for the Kamloops Farmer's Market. At this time of year, there is a bounty of produce. If you are going to make fermented foods you need all your ingredients to be organic or not sprayed. Sprayed vegetables will kill the fermentation process.

Before canning, people fermented to preserve food. Fermenting foods can store the harvest bounty for later consumption during the winter months. Fermentation also increases the nutrient content of the base food. Fermented foods are alive and full of probiotics that can help improve our gut health and immune function. This is especially important during the cold winter months.

Traditional fermentation requires a crock, or you can always make smaller amounts using a glass mason jar or a Pickl-It. Here is a recipe for a making kimchi, our family’s favorite fermented vegetable. Below is a photo essay on how to make larger amounts of kimchi using two types of traditional fermentation crocks.

harvest-bounty-2

Over the summer my crocks sit empty, waiting for the harvest bounty. I have five crocks of different sizes. I can produce about 55L of fermented foods. I have three standard crocks like the ones in the middle. The two dark colored crocks are Harsch Gairtopf crocks.

The most difficult part about making large qualities of fermented foods is finding a container big enough to mix all the ingredients. I have four pails for chopped cabbage and one pail for all the spicy vegetables. As I load up the pressing crock, I mix about four parts chopped cabbage to one part spicy vegetables. As I am filling the pressing crock, I add the sea salt to each load of cabbage and spicy vegetables. I fill the crock up to the top and press the vegetables down until the liquid comes out. Normally, the crock will be half full after pressing. I will refill the crock to the top and do a second press before transferring the pressed kimchi and liquid to the smaller crocks. It is best to press, not pound, the kimchi. If I get tired I just take a break and the sea salt will do most of the work for me.

harvest-bounty-3

I mix four parts chopped cabbage and one part spicy vegetables in my largest crock and do all my pressing in that crock. I add the sea salt to each load of chopped cabbage and spicy vegetables. I find it easier to press the kimchi after laying whole cabbage leaves on top.

harvest-bounty-4

After the kimchi is compressed, the liquid will come out of the vegetables. At this point I transfer the kimchi into two smaller crocks and compress the kimchi again. I am always surprised how much produce goes into each crock.

harvest-bounty-5

This is what the kimchi looks like just before I put whole cabbage leaves on the top. The leaves help keep the small pieces of kimchi from floating to the surface. Anything on the surface will rot.

harvest-bounty-6

On top of the cabbage leaves go the "stones" which weigh down the kimchi. Anything that is floating on the surface must be removed to avoid rot. I will remove all these pieces and carefully clean the top of the crock before closing up the crock.

After all the floating pieces are removed, I put the lid on the crock and pour water around the lid to air-lock the crock. It is important to remember to add more water as it is lost to evaporation. I made 30L of kimchi in three crocks from about 80 pounds of cabbage and 20 pounds of assorted spicy vegetables. This might seem like a lot of kimchi for a family of four, but I try to encourage my family to eat a small amount of kimchi with each meal to improve digestion.

crock-day-4

This is a Harsch Gairtopf crock after four days of fermentation. Note, the airy bubbles on top. It is a good idea to label your crocks with a start date. After about 7-14 days I will move the crocks from my warm kitchen to a cool place for the winter. This will slow down the fermentation process.

crock-day-4b

Here is a standard crock with a glass plate and two granite stones to weigh down the kimchi. The ceramic lid broke on this crock so Shaen made me a wooden lid.

Winter Storage: Kimchi and Lacto-fermented Green Tomatoes

crock

This is one of my fermenting crocks. I have about five different types and sizes. You can pick up crocks at garage sales or buy them new.

It is that time of year again to be thinking about winter stores. I spent the day making kimchi. Kimchi is by far my favorite lacto-fermented food. This recipe is based on a Korean Sauerkraut recipe from Nourishing Traditions. It uses mostly local produce that you can get at the Kamloops Farmer’s Market.

If you have never made lacto-fermented vegetables, please read Wild Fermentation. Remember to use organic or un-sprayed vegetables because the fermentation culture can be killed by residue pesticides or herbicides. Ask the Rubinsons at Silver Springs Organic for their organic fermenting cabbages for best results.

kimchi-and-eggs

This is a favorite breakfast with grilled steak, kimchi, eggs and garden fresh greens.

Kimchi
2 large organic fermenting cabbages, finely sliced
1 large organic onion with green top, grated or chopped
6 large organic carrots, grated or chopped
2c organic daikon radish (any type of organic radish will work), grated or chopped
4T organic ginger, freshly grated
1 organic hot red pepper, finely chopped
6 organic garlic cloves, freshly grated
4T sea salt
4T whey (if not available add an extra 1T sea salt)

In a very large bowl mix together all the vegetables, salt and whey. Put the mixed ingredients in a fermentation crock or follow the directions in Wild Fermentation. I use two types of fermenting crocks in my household. I have two 10L Harsch Gairtopf Fermenting Crock Pots and various sizes of Medalta Crocks.

Lacto-fermented Green Tomatoes
4-5 pounds organic green tomatoes
2 organic garlic cloves, whole
1 organic hot red pepper, whole
1T sea salt
2T whey (if not available add an extra 1T sea salt)
enough fresh water to cover green tomatoes

This is a good recipe if you find yourself at the end of the summer season with too many unripe tomatoes. Only use the hard green tomatoes that have not turned color at all. Follow the directions for Lacto-fermented Horseradish Dill Pickles. The green tomatoes need the same treatment as pickling cucumbers. If you like dill better than hot red peppers, try replacing the pickling cucumbers in the recipe with green tomatoes for a dill favor. The green tomatoes should be tried in a month and the flavor will improve over the winter.

Updated November 8, 2010: I originally wrote this posting back in early October. I had never tried making Lacto-fermented Green Tomatoes but I had lots of green tomatoes and nothing to lose. I have just opened my crock to find a coat of white slimy mold on the top. I have learned from experience not to worry about the mold as long as there isn’t a horrible smell. The mold on top actually seems to protect the contents below. I carefully removed the slime and cleaned the sides of the crock. I lost a bit of the mold to the fluid so I washes the green tomatoes in fresh water (no chlorine please) and filtered the liquid with a sieve. I returned the green tomatoes to the crock and poured the liquid back in. I moved the crock to our cold storage area for the winter. I tried a few of the green tomatoes. They remind me of a cross between an olive and a very crunchy pickle.