Winter Storage Part I

kimchi-crock

Opening the last crock in the spring is always an adventure. I am sometimes horrified by what I find on the top layer. But below is always beautiful kimchi with a complex, rich flavor. If at all possible, eat a small amount of fermented food with every meal.

This week my family have been working on a modified root cellar for winter storage. Traditionally, a root cellar would be built into the ground. This would give the vegetables a consistent temperature and humidity throughout the seasons. We will try to build a real root cellar next spring.

This winter we will have to be satisfied with a modified work shed. The work shed is a typical 8’x12′ wood-frame constructed building. The building will be too dry. We will have to put pails of water in the building to increase humidity. We will have to heat the structure during the coldest parts of the winter, something a true root cellar would not require.

We will be sourcing vegetables for storage over the next few weeks. We will be looking for potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, cabbage, assorted types of squash, garlic, hot peppers, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips and shallots. As I said before, I am not a local food zealot. But I like to buy as much as I can locally. My largest household expense is food. When I purchase my food locally, my money stays in our community. Also, the quality is better. It is great to be able to look at my plate and know where everything on it came from. It makes me feel somehow more connected.

I am madly making sour kraut and kimchi. I am always amazed at how many cabbages can go into a crock. These crocks will be stored in the root cellar for later consumption.

There are lots of great places to find local food for root cellar winter storage. These are some of the producers I have used this year:
1. Zaparango Organic Farm (certified organic)
Robert Vanderlip T: 250.318.0235
potatoes, carrots, onions, assorted squash, livestock feed corn
2. Lyne Farm (un-sprayed)
Liz Lyne T:250.578.8266
pickling cucumbers, beets, carrots
3. Farmhouse Herbs (certified organic)
Paula and Mendel Rubinsons T: 250.373.2312
pickling cabbage, onions, shallots, parsnips
4. Gort?s Gouda Cheese Farm (certified organic)
T: 250.832.4274
raw gouda, smoked raw gouda (Have Gort’s cut the large wheels into eight segments and vacuum pack. Each piece will naturally age and easily last through the winter months.)
5. Highland Farm (certified organic)
T: 250.803.0048
garlic, cherries, apples

Undated May 13, 2012: Last winter we finished the root cellar. It is forty feet long and three feet wide. There is another ten feet of covered space on the outside of the root cellar for storage of garden equipment. Here are some pictures taken as I clean out the root cellar today. It will give you an idea of what to expect if you store high quality produce.

root-cellar

This is our new root cellar. The south wall is a retaining wall of concrete block and the floor is gravel. The north wall is the back of the warehouse. The covered outside area is great for storing garden equipment.

cellar-beets-parsnips-carrots

These yellow beets, parsnips and carrots were purchased last September from Farmhouse Herbs. I should have opened the bag of carrots to let out extra moisture. The vegetables are still edible after over seven months of storage.

cellar-garlic-potatoes

This is the last of the garlic and potatoes. I ran out of onions last week. After over seven months of storage the garlic is still very good. The potatoes need to be peeled but are still edible.

cellar-beet-carrot-puree

This root cellar puree was made with yellow beets, carrots, sea salt, butter and raw milk. I added some fresh chives from my herb garden. It can be eaten like mashed potatoes or fry up in lard or butter for breakfast.

Wild Fermentation

I had a request for information about lacto-fermentation. Before there were freezers or canning your great grandmother preserved food with fermentation. Fermentation was a magical event that the Greeks called alchemy, the art of transformation.

Wild Fermentation

This is great book for the person seriously interested in learning the art of fermentation.

I would recommend two books to read before starting to make fermented foods: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellis Katz. A third book to read if you are interested in lacto-fermented drinks is Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection by Jessica Prentice. Here are three links that will get you going with lacto-fermentation:
1. This is a primer by Sally Fallon on Lacto-Fermentation.
2. This is a link to Sandor Ellis Katz’s website about how to make Traditional Sour Pickles.
3. If pickles aren’t your thing, and you were thinking about something sweet, Charles Eisenstein will introduce you to Traditional Sodas, a healthy alternative to soft drinks. This essay is a very good introduction to artisan food production. I would like to see small groups of like minded individuals coming together in community cottage industry to produce these commercially unavailable traditional foods.

If you would like to start rather than read about it, go to your kitchen and we will do some magic!
Simple Sour Kraut
Equipment

1 glass container with lid
1 glass saucer that can fit into glass container
1 small round granite rock that can fit into glass container
1 wooden mallet or spoon
Ingredients
1 large un-sprayed/organic cabbage
1T sea salt

Find a large mason jar or any glass container with a lid. Find a small glass saucer that can fit into the glass container. (I do not feel comfortable using plastic.) Go into your garden and find a small round granite rock. Shred and core one large un-sprayed cabbage. Make sure the cabbage has not been sprayed or the fermentation will not occur. Add one tablespoon of sea salt to the shredded cabbage and put it into the jar. Don’t worry if you have too much. More cabbage than you would think possible will go into the jar by the end of the process. Pound down the cabbage with a wooden mallet or spoon. Let the cabbage stand for 30 minutes.

The water from the cabbage will start to come out. Add and pound down more cabbage. Leave another 30 minutes. In the end, there should be about 1″ of cabbage water over the cabbage. Place the saucer over the cabbage and weigh it down with the granite rock. Any cabbage at the surface of the liquid will rot so remove any pieces. Cover and put in a warm place. Bubbling should start in a day or so. Everyday take a peek and watch the mystery of life unfold in your kitchen. Try the cabbage in about a week. After the cabbage becomes as sour as you like, refrigerate the sour kraut. Eat with meats for better digestion.

This process must have been very mysterious for our ancestors. It is mysterious for me!

Update August 8, 2009: I have just found a new website on lacto-fermented food. The website has recipes, lots of photos, radio links, and short postings on food safety. I hope you enjoy www.awesomepickle.com.