OT; Lacto-fermented Pickles

500 · July 2017

I started my first two quarts of naturally fermented pickles today. Someday they will be sliced on a burger, so this isn't too far OT. Wondering if any other Eggers ferment, besides your liver.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/7p/4yff41z3nsxz.jpg

nolaegghead · July 2017

I have done them. Love the half sours.

The_Stache · July 2017

I only punish my liver, it is evil!!! Love to hear how this comes out!!

vb4677 · July 2017

Yup! I got some HopTops http://www.hoptop.us/ from KS a year or so ago and have done saurkraut, pickles, hot peppers, jalapenos and onions. Great sour taste and tingle. For pickles, put a little black tea in each jar for crunch or they'll be sorta limp... My issue is we can't grow a garden in our subdivision, so I don't have a supply of veggies, other than the farmer's market.

500 · July 2017

I got these lids; https://nourishedessentials.com/. And Picklemeister weights. I used a bay leaf in each jar to help keep them crisp, plus these are fresh farmers market bumpy cukes.

Theophan · July 2017

A guy I know at church is big into gardening and fermentation, ferments his own hot sauces, and recently fermented some pickles. It seems like there should be a different name for something pickled in vinegar and something fermented till it's sour -- very different things. I bet they're good, though!

500 · July 2017

Theophan said:

A guy I know at church is big into gardening and fermentation, ferments his own hot sauces, and recently fermented some pickles. It seems like there should be a different name for something pickled in vinegar and something fermented till it's sour -- very different things. I bet they're good, though!

Correct. As I understand it, you call them Pickled and Fermented to distinguish the difference. But cucumbers are still called pickles at the end. Im
doing this to just see what I can do to make homemade foods and to also get some benefit from the good gut bacteria by eating fermented foods. I still like a vinegar pickle but I'm hoping these fermented ones will taste even better and have a depth of flavor and not just a vinegar bite.

Theophan · July 2017

500 said:
... I'm hoping these fermented ones will taste even better and have a depth of flavor and not just a vinegar bite.

I'm sure they will. To me, the difference between aged (i.e., fermented) hot sauces like Tabasco and Crystal, and non-aged ones like Texas Pete that just mix vinegar with peppers is night and day. The fermented ones just have a deeper, richer flavor. I've never tasted fermented pickles, but I bet that's true with them, too. Mixing vinegar and shredded cabbage won't make sauerkraut, either! The fermentation makes it so much more interesting, flavor-wise.

Gulfcoastguy · July 2017

My Grandmother and my mother used to ferment pickles in a large crock. Mom still has the crock but she uses it as a flower vase now. Their recipe was a sweet pickle.

Hibby · July 2017

I got Pickle Pipe fermenting lids for Mason jars and I was pretty disappointed. I'm anxious to see how those lids work out for you 500. Please keep us updated.

500 · July 2017

I'm 7 - 14 days out before I do a taste test. Then I'll decide if they need to go longer or if they go to the fridge. This is all new to me but the interwebs has given me a good start.

fishlessman · July 2017

i tried some cabbage last fall, 2 weeks in just salty cabbage, 4 weeks the same, not sure what went wrong, should go look at it now

THEBuckeye · July 2017

At least it's food, not motor oil

fishlessman · July 2017

THEBuckeye said:

At least it's food, not motor oil

what if the top third of the jar after 8 months looks like black crude oil floating over cabbage

thats what i got right now. so the question is, is it a dye from the purple cabbage or is it poisonous

Legume · July 2017

I'm sure you'll let us know if it isn't.

Theophan · July 2017

Legume said:

I'm sure you'll let us know if it isn't.

Or your estate, if you actually swallowed any of what you said looks like black crude oil... <shudder>

nolaegghead · July 2017

fishlessman said:

THEBuckeye said:

At least it's food, not motor oil

what if the top third of the jar after 8 months looks like black crude oil floating over cabbage thats what i got right now. so the question is, is it a dye from the purple cabbage or is it poisonous

Being serious here - throw it out.

fishlessman · July 2017

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

THEBuckeye said:

At least it's food, not motor oil

what if the top third of the jar after 8 months looks like black crude oil floating over cabbage thats what i got right now. so the question is, is it a dye from the purple cabbage or is it poisonous

Being serious here - throw it out.

have no plans on eating this one

still not sure what the black liquid is, not found on google, can see green mold on the cabbage down a few inches from the top. not sure why it did not ferment in the beginning, its all still submerged

500 · July 2017

Black is bad for a ferment. White is ok but none is best.

nolaegghead · July 2017

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

THEBuckeye said:

At least it's food, not motor oil

what if the top third of the jar after 8 months looks like black crude oil floating over cabbage thats what i got right now. so the question is, is it a dye from the purple cabbage or is it poisonous

Being serious here - throw it out.

have no plans on eating this one still not sure what the black liquid is, not found on google, can see green mold on the cabbage down a few inches from the top. not sure why it did not ferment in the beginning, its all still submerged

The black stuff is usually a nasty aerobic mold. Are you sure you didn't have any that wasn't submerged?

nolaegghead · July 2017

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

500 · July 2017

Green Bean ferment Batch #1. Bloody Mary accoutrements in my future.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/n5/yt2n2ck9l2ij.jpg

SciAggie · July 2017

I bought a fermenting crock and made sauerkraut. It turned out great. I haven't tried anything else.

Eggcelsior · July 2017

I just received some cabbage from my Dad's garden. I had ordered a crock but at Nola's behest, I canceled and am going to swing by the local home brew store for an airlock fermentation bucket.

fishlessman · July 2017

nolaegghead said:

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

recipe was 1 tablespoon pickling salt for one head of cabbage medium sized. looking at it today and the black is more syrupy with the green mold attached to the top third of the cabbage. next try something with a better airlock, this one needed a little water daily to stay locked. cabbage was completely submerged with a perforated stainless plate and spring holding it down. try and post pics later, downloaded some malware yesterday, slowing things down

nolaegghead · July 2017

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

recipe was 1 tablespoon pickling salt for one head of cabbage medium sized. looking at it today and the black is more syrupy with the green mold attached to the top third of the cabbage. next try something with a better airlock, this one needed a little water daily to stay locked. cabbage was completely submerged with a perforated stainless plate and spring holding it down. try and post pics later, downloaded some malware yesterday, slowing things down

Seems a bit light on the salt. Way I do it is chop up all the cabbage, weigh it and add tbsp per pound, mixing it up in a big batch. Cabbage weights around 2-4 pounds per head. My last batch finished, smelled and looked great, but I let it go another week and the water level dropped and it went south quick.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/3-biggest-fermenting-mistakes-youre-already-making/

fishlessman · July 2017

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

recipe was 1 tablespoon pickling salt for one head of cabbage medium sized. looking at it today and the black is more syrupy with the green mold attached to the top third of the cabbage. next try something with a better airlock, this one needed a little water daily to stay locked. cabbage was completely submerged with a perforated stainless plate and spring holding it down. try and post pics later, downloaded some malware yesterday, slowing things down

Seems a bit light on the salt. Way I do it is chop up all the cabbage, weigh it and add tbsp per pound, mixing it up in a big batch. Cabbage weights around 2-4 pounds per head. My last batch finished, smelled and looked great, but I let it go another week and the water level dropped and it went south quick.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/3-biggest-fermenting-mistakes-youre-already-making/

the thing throwing me even with the mold is that it never fermented even after a month, reading from that site i think it may have been temps. i picked the cabbage out of the raised bed, maybe a little over two pounds in size but it was later in the fall. maybe the camp was just to cold then, thinking the cold and salt may have just stopped the initial fermentation, i dont know. house is usually 50 degrees during the week that time of year. might try hot sauce in the jar this year and get a better fermenter. another oddity, the airlock up top went dry back in the winter and the liquid in the jar is still up

nolaegghead · July 2017

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

recipe was 1 tablespoon pickling salt for one head of cabbage medium sized. looking at it today and the black is more syrupy with the green mold attached to the top third of the cabbage. next try something with a better airlock, this one needed a little water daily to stay locked. cabbage was completely submerged with a perforated stainless plate and spring holding it down. try and post pics later, downloaded some malware yesterday, slowing things down

Seems a bit light on the salt. Way I do it is chop up all the cabbage, weigh it and add tbsp per pound, mixing it up in a big batch. Cabbage weights around 2-4 pounds per head. My last batch finished, smelled and looked great, but I let it go another week and the water level dropped and it went south quick.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/3-biggest-fermenting-mistakes-youre-already-making/

the thing throwing me even with the mold is that it never fermented even after a month, reading from that site i think it may have been temps. i picked the cabbage out of the raised bed, maybe a little over two pounds in size but it was later in the fall. maybe the camp was just to cold then, thinking the cold and salt may have just stopped the initial fermentation, i dont know. house is usually 50 degrees during the week that time of year. might try hot sauce in the jar this year and get a better fermenter. another oddity, the airlock up top went dry back in the winter and the liquid in the jar is still up

The temp explains it. The lactobacillus hate the cold. You probably didn't get the lactic acid production that needs to happen first to drop the pH, and quickly, to preserve the cabbage from opportunistic molds and other, unwanted bacteria. Warmer is better, you should put an electric blanket over it or something to get it to 65-75F. Maybe put the vessel in your bed at night.

fishlessman · July 2017

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

How much salt did you use? If you use too much, you can inhibit lactic acid formation, which acts as a preservative and kills most mold.

recipe was 1 tablespoon pickling salt for one head of cabbage medium sized. looking at it today and the black is more syrupy with the green mold attached to the top third of the cabbage. next try something with a better airlock, this one needed a little water daily to stay locked. cabbage was completely submerged with a perforated stainless plate and spring holding it down. try and post pics later, downloaded some malware yesterday, slowing things down

Seems a bit light on the salt. Way I do it is chop up all the cabbage, weigh it and add tbsp per pound, mixing it up in a big batch. Cabbage weights around 2-4 pounds per head. My last batch finished, smelled and looked great, but I let it go another week and the water level dropped and it went south quick.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/3-biggest-fermenting-mistakes-youre-already-making/

the thing throwing me even with the mold is that it never fermented even after a month, reading from that site i think it may have been temps. i picked the cabbage out of the raised bed, maybe a little over two pounds in size but it was later in the fall. maybe the camp was just to cold then, thinking the cold and salt may have just stopped the initial fermentation, i dont know. house is usually 50 degrees during the week that time of year. might try hot sauce in the jar this year and get a better fermenter. another oddity, the airlock up top went dry back in the winter and the liquid in the jar is still up

The temp explains it. The lactobacillus hate the cold. You probably didn't get the lactic acid production that needs to happen first to drop the pH, and quickly, to preserve the cabbage from opportunistic molds and other, unwanted bacteria. Warmer is better, you should put an electric blanket over it or something to get it to 65-75F. Maybe put the vessel in your bed at night.

top of the fridge might work but thats where i warm up the raw ground hamburger for eating

ill come up with something this fall

Ima_good_egg · July 2017

Ima_good_egg · July 2017

A batch of radish carrot kimchi.

OT; Lacto-fermented Pickles

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