Fermented Veg Salad

What's all the fuss about sauerkraut? Simple ways of making your own cheaply.

What is all the fuss about sauerkraut? How can cabbage that is stuffed in a jar and left to ferment for more than three weeks be remotely good for you? It's smelly and bubbles away, it doesn't make any sense. These were all things that crossed my mind when I started making my own. Sauerkraut isn't new to me nor is it new to the world, its a very old method of storing vegetables. I remember as a teenager slicing loads of cabbages my uncle had grown and watching him pound and pack them away in a huge drum. He made enough for the whole winter for his whole family and people in his town.

It may well be smelly but actually quite delicious especially if you make your own. It is my theory that if you make your own you will enjoy it far more than the ones you can purchase as what you make is what your body needs. I have no hard facts to support this theory except my intuition and gut instinct. And speaking of gut this is one of the reasons sauerkraut is good for you. As fermented vegetables are pre digested the work of getting rid of indigestible bacteria has already been done giving your gut a break from that and then allowing the good bacteria to be absorbed by your gut. By eating sauerkraut you have a good chance of improving your gut flora and making for much easier digestion. If you already have a healthy gut you can still benefit by eating sauerkraut as it is great for over all good health.

There are some suggestions out there that fermented vegetables can cure all sorts of illnesses but this is misleading, it does not cure diseases or illnesses just aids good health.

There are all sorts of ways to make fermented veg, you can buy a wonderful crockpot and pounder and make all sorts of varieties but I like to keep it simple and this is what I have found out through experimenting.

My tips for fermenting veg

The softer the vegetable the less crunch you will get so stick to things like cabbage and root veg. Red cabbage and radishes are my favourite.

Keep the vegetables separate, as when you mix the veggies, one vegetable tends to go softer than the other.

Slice the vegetables by hand - feels nicer this way.

Avoid being over zealous and make small batches, I usually do one cabbage at a time as it gets tedious if you decide to cut up 15 cabbages.

You can use as little or as much salt as you like. The less salt you use the softer the vegetable will become. For 1 cabbage I use 2 to 3 tsp of salt - experiment with this as you don't want it too salty. For 4 bunches of radishes I use 1 1/2 tsp salt. Remember different salts vary in strength.

As you are cutting the veg place in a non reactive bowl and add the salt, knead the vegetable and the salt together with very clean hands to release water. Do this for as long as you can stand, the more water released the better. Keep this water as this is the brine for the vegetables to ferment in.

Pack the sliced pounded vegetables in a very clean glass jar adding the brine. If this brine does not cover the vegetables add enough filtered water to do so. Make sure the veggies are covered and if they are floating to the surface push them down with a large piece of cabbage leaf and leave it on the top of the veggies.

Seal the lid of the jar as tight as you can and store in a darkened cupboard for 3 weeks. Don't let it get hot.

If mould has formed on the top (this has never happened to me) you can apparently still eat the fermented vegetables. Sandor Ellix Katz the authour of The Art of Fermentation (which is a brilliant book by the way) suggests you just take the mould off the top and it will be perfectly fine. I am not sure if i would or would not do that as I have this policy of if in doubt throw it out, but you may feel differently if you have spent hours cutting up veggies.

You can add all sorts of flavours to your veg at the time of fermenting but I suggest not, unless you are into giving Kimchi a try. I tried adding tumeric and dulse flakes and even though it tasted nice my veggies went soft and I wasn't into it. So what I do now is let the veg ferment naturally and then add seasoning when I serve it.

If you want to find out more about fermenting you can buy Sandor's book it's a goodie, or you can book into my upcoming Chef's training program, One of the modules focuses on fermenting and sour doughs etc. It will be a comprehensive look at this wonderful way of preserving foods.

Fermented Veg Salad

Leafy greens

handful of blueberries

12 olives kalamata

sprinkling of activated nuts

sprinkling of hemp seeds

squeeze of a lime

splash of olive oil

spoon full of sauerkraut- i used red cabbage and raddish

Mix all together

Categories:Snacks/Sides Mains Salads

Tags:cabbage radish sauerkraut