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Tons of fun was had at our sauerkraut, kimchi, and beets preserving workshop. 15 people joined in this workshop and the overwhelming response was that the workshop was well worth the messiness.
Lactofermented vegetables are an amazing and simple process that can be done both quickly and cheaply. We started by cutting up all the cabbage, beets, su choi, onions, apples, garlic and ginger and placing them in large containers. With the sauerkraut, we added cabbage, apples, beets, and onions. The kimchi included su choi, apples, carrots, onions, and a paste made of ginger, garlic, korean chili, and fish paste to give it a nice spicy flavour.
As we cut up the vegies we added salt and thoroughly mixed this in. The salt draws out the water from the vegetables and as the vegetables are pressed into the containers a salt brine rises to the surface. This brine works to ferment and preserve the food. The vegies are left for about 3 days to ferment and then placed in jars and stored in a cool place.
Fermented vegetables have tremendous nutritional value with plenty of vitamins and enzymes since the vegetables are raw.
Three days after fermentation the vegies are pretty much ready to eat, though they apparently taste better with age. They are slightly sour and salty and taste great!
Grandview Woodland Food Connection 