Fermented Foods

GalanteNate_OneEa

I know that all of you are are a good group of folks, who are filled with tons of knowledge about various types of hobbies, so I thought I'd bring an off topic question to the group. Mostly I know that you all belong to this group for many reasons but the foremost seems to be the drive to help and share. So here it is. I am a novice at fermenting foods, mostly to help with digestive and overall health brought on from naturally occurring probiotics. I pretty much eat a serving or two, of something or other fermented, per day. But I'm really looking for some original recipes, ideas, and guidance. So if any of you have experience, or something to share, please do.

Thanks in advance for all of your help, and looking forward to your responses!
- Nate 

Killit_and_Grillit

Most of my fermented food comes from Kentucky or Napa. 

SciAggie

I bought this book - it seems to be the gold standard reference for fermented foods. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Fermentation-Depth-Exploration-Essential-ebook/dp/B0083JQCF2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490410246&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+of+fermentation+by+sandor+katz
I bought a crock and have only made sauerkraut but it turned out very well. 

Lvnthedrm

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Most of my fermented food comes from Kentucky or Napa. 

Ditto. I didn't even know fermented foods was an option. The things you learn on this forum.....

blind99

I make yogurt pretty often. I like that I can pick the milk I want. Scald the milk, cool, mix in a little yogurt, and culture in a ziplock bag in a sous vide water bath. Strain if you want. 

Did kimchi once. I like it a lot but I don't eat it regularly. It's so pungent it must be super healthy!

HeavyG

I make my own sauerkraut. Simple. Just need cabbage and salt (and maybe make some extra brine if the cabbage is a little dried out).

Lots of good books and web resources about this. I've tried a few kraut recipes but really just prefer plain ole kraut.

You can use regular jars or you can buy some special gear. Depends on how much you want to spend. I have a couple of the German ceramic crocks. They are heavy and expensive.

I've also got a few of these in different sizes: https://smile.amazon.com/Crazy-Korean-Cooking-Sauerkraut-Fermentation/dp/B00M40ANMO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1490411509&sr=1-1&keywords=kimchi+container

I've come to prefer the kimchi containers cuz I can stick them anywhere out of the way and not have to keep adding water to the airlock of the ceramic crocks.

GalanteNate_OneEa

@HeavyG Those containers seem pretty cool. I use 32oz jars and have come to realize I eat way faster than I can ferment, lol. I've been messing around with sauerkraut and now I have some red onions going. I'm kinda wondering what else I can do. Well I guess you can do anything but what can I do and come out tasting good.Thank you everyone for all of your input.

Botch

Kimchee on the lunch menu today!  

Ima_good_egg

I always have linchpin and sauerkraut on hand. I sampled cordito, a kraut with Latin flavors, it was really tasty. I'll try that next.

vb4677

http://www.hoptop.us/

I found these on Kickstarter and backed the project.  I was thinking i'd use them to experiment with my beer brewing, but I've found I've used them more for food fermentations - saurkrauts, peppers, onions, pickles.  Real easy and low-profile, so you can get the Mason jars into the fridge, pack 'em back into the box or what not..

GalanteNate_OneEa

vb4677 said:

http://www.hoptop.us/

I found these on Kickstarter and backed the project.  I was thinking i'd use them to experiment with my beer brewing, but I've found I've used them more for food fermentations - saurkrauts, peppers, onions, pickles.  Real easy and low-profile, so you can get the Mason jars into the fridge, pack 'em back into the box or what not..

Those look assessments too. I might give that a shot.

GalanteNate_OneEa

So I got a link from a guy on twitter who has quite a few recipes.

https://jaredspropops.leadpages.co/f/15981a57f639c5-14767d346639c5/140fb015128bac-uT3whOg8RR2WaiQPHAlYT/75-ways-to-make-fermented-foods.pdf

Pretty good stuff, from beginner to expert.

HeavyG

My wife got me some of these this past Xmas but I have not yet put them to use because I just haven't gotten around to buying any large wide mouth jars:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DJVVORE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

GalanteNate_OneEa

HeavyG said:

My wife got me some of these this past Xmas but I have not yet put them to use because I just haven't gotten around to buying any large wide mouth jars:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DJVVORE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those look pretty cool. Let me know what you think when you get around to trying them out.