Some Basics To Assist You in Working With My Lacto-Fermentation "Recipes"...

SOME BACKGROUND:

Starting in the summer of 2014, I did a BIG experiment with lacto-fermented foods, where I added some (A LOT or a little) to EVERYTHING I made! For two years, they seemed to provide my body with essential nutrients and felt wonderful!!!  Then suddenly, my body seemed to be getting enough of what she needed from the yogurt I'd just added back into my diet and the kefir water I continued to drink.  I didn't know if this was the end of my BIG experiment or... However, as time has gone on, it became clear that my body does NOT want the kefir water at all, but she DOES still want the lacto-fermented foods, she just didn't want SO MUCH...  Consequently, I decreased the quantity for awhile; only adding some to somethings, sometimes... At this time I made them less frequently, but I'm now back to adding them in, one way or another, to every meal I make.

When I began experimenting with lacto-fermentation back in the summer of 2014, I recorded what I tried as I went along.  At first I was very careful to choose only organic ingredients to use, but I'm no longer quite so careful. I still use organic things when I can, but I've had equally good success with non-organic vegetables and fruits I peel and since these are much easier to obtain I now use these too... Although I seldom do the same fermentation twice and my "recipes" are not exact in any case,  I do often look back at what I've done as a rough guide, so I can choose appropriate quantities to make the number of jars of ferment I want to make now... 

I started this blog because the original format I used to record my experiments did not allow me to search for ingredients.  As a result, I found I was scrolling through ALL my experiments looking for one with similar ingredients to those I wanted to use each time I did a new one. As I'd done more than 80, this was getting cumbersome.... Copying all of my experiments into this blog format has made it possible for me to search easily... 

HOW TO USE MY "RECIPES"...

Please keep in mind though, these are just a record of what I've done... in a way that has felt "right" for me...  Although you are welcome to use what I've done for inspiration or as a rough guide, if you decide to experiment with lacto-fermentation yourself, it is important you choose the methodology and equipment which feels "right" for you rather than simply copying from what I've done... I've shared the two books I read, before I began experimenting on the right side of this blog near the top. Although I no longer do things like they do, I did find them VERY helpful at the beginning... You may find them useful too...

I also learn from my experiments  which influences the ingredients I choose and how I use them... This information isn't usually included in later experiments...  For instance the first time I used winter squash I used fresh squash and was disappointed.  The skin was hard and so was the flesh.  I learned that if I used fresh winter squash it HAD to be grated (the skin finely and the flesh coarsely). However, I found frozen squash which has been softened with freezing can be used just diced, skin and all, but I still often grate the skin as this makes for a finer texture...  If you look back at my first experiments with squash, you will see this development, but if you only look at my more recent ones you'll just see that I've used frozen squash...  It's therefore worth your while if you're interested in using a certain ingredient to check back on the other experiments I've done with it, to see what changes I've made or if I've noticed anything which has influenced my subsequent experiments... 

Almost without exception, I've enjoyed the results obtained from my "recipes".  When I haven't, I've usually dumped it all out and modified the mix - adding ingredients or changing the ratios.  When I've done this, my modifications are noted along with my original "recipe".  If nothing is noted at the end of a "recipe", you can assume I've liked the result...

WHY I'VE CHOSEN TO MAKE LACTO-FERMENTED FOODS...

• eating them feels SO good... My body seems to just love them!!
• I like the taste... a little tart and a little sweet kind of like a salad dressing or a relish...
• I use these instead of straight salt in my meals... the ferments give me not only the necessary salt, but beneficial bacteria and a host of vitamins and minerals as well
• they are fun and easy to prepare....
• they are unique...  even each bottle in a single batch tastes a little different and if I try to repeat a recipe (which I VERY seldom do) the results are different too...
• they are flexible...  if the taste when I first do them is unappealing, I can pour them out and modify... change the ratios.... add ingredients... or decide like with cantaloupe that although it is edible, it just doesn't make ferments I like...
• I can use almost any vegetable or fruit as it comes into season, so I make good use of whatever is currently plentiful and inexpensive... All of my experiments have been edible and with a very few exceptions, completely enjoyable!
• Although I can use them on their own as a small side dish, I've mainly added a little or a lot to almost every dish I've created (hot or cold) and they've added an unparalleled interest and complexity to each one...

THE EQUIPMENT & METHODOLOGY I USE...

• for storage I use wide-mouth liter, 750 ml. and 500 ml. mason jars which are easy to work with, very affordable and readily available...  There are other more expensive and perhaps better alternatives, but  I can't afford them and what I'm doing is working OK for me for now...
• Ferments aren't supposed to like metal AT ALL, so I use glass, plastic or ceramic for anything which comes into contact with the fermenting mixture.  It goes without saying that you should keep the salt brine well away from the metal tops anyway, as contact causes them to rust.  Also make sure you wipe the jars down well before putting the lids on for the same reason. Although the mason jars do have metal lids, they are usually well above the fermenting mixture, except when the mix is VERY lively and overflows the jars.  In this case, I try to remedy the situation as soon as possible as it can make a BIG mess.  As a result, even in this case they aren't in contact with the metal for long.  After I've incorporated them into whatever I'm about to eat, I do frequently use a metal utensil to actually eat my food, but prior to this I'm VERY careful to keep metal away from my ferments.
• It is important that the fermenting vegetables and fruits be kept firmly pressed down and as submerged in liquid as possible... To do this, I use an empty 375 ml. olive jar, as a press.  It fits perfectly inside the wide-mouth mason jars.  I also keep pressing the vegetables down into the liquid, usually just with a plastic or ceramic spoon, as I eat them, so they are always as submerged as possible...  The things like my bean & pea ferments which are more like a paste and don't have much liquid I just keep pressed down so they are exposed to as little air as possible...
• for mixing I use one or two  4 liter "Pyrex" glass bowls...
• for stirring I use a VERY large plastic mixing/stirring spoon purchased at the dollar store...
• Since fresh cabbage, unlike frozen cabbage, doesn't seem to require a  starter to ferment well, I usually either use some of a previous "wild" ferment" where fresh cabbage is a major ingredient as a starter, when I need one... or more frequently now, I just use a small amount of cabbage, to start the ferment going...  There are other things which can be used as a starter... but I'm not convinced they are REALLY effective, as I don't think the microbes are the same as those in a "wild" ferment of vegetables.  Also I've discovered that the cabbage doesn't need to be SO fresh... I frequently keep cabbage for a month or more in the fridge wrapped in a cotton cloth inside a plastic bag.  I use a little as I need it and it is FINE!
• Opening the jars enough to release the accumulated gasses, while they are incubating in the "warm" cupboard once or twice a day is important and gives an indication of how well they are fermenting.  Once I judge the culture to be well established and see they are fermenting well and bubbling nicely, I re-pack the jars so the vegetables are again as submerged in liquid as possible. I then close the jars and move them to the fridge to stabilize.  Once they're refrigerated, fermentation slows so they don't need to be opened and I think they're better left mostly undisturbed.  If they've been sitting in the fridge for four months or so I open them just enough to let extra gas escape unless the vegetables have migrated to the surface and need pressing back down into the liquid.  The fewer times they're opened the less "fresh" air they are exposed to, which I think helps them last longer...  If you have a basement which is consistently cool and not humid, jars you're not currently eating from can be kept there... Kept cold, preferably refrigerated, they seem to keep quite well for me for seven months or more.  They may keep longer, but I've always eaten them by the seventh or eighth month, so I don't know. When I begin using them, they stay in the fridge and I keep them as firmly packed as possible until they are gone...  The pea  and bean ferments I think don't keep as long, so I've started using these almost as soon as I take them from the cupboard.  Consequently these only last for between three to four months..  I don't know if they'll keep longer.   I haven't tried... The others I usually leave to "ripen" for a month or so before I begin eating them... but this is just personal preference.  They are good to eat whenever the flavor appeals. Although I usually have a fridge fairly well stocked with these I don't often have more than four or five jars that I'm eating from at one time. This way I finish eating them fast enough to have very little problem with them going moldy.  This has happened occasionally to the last little bit left in the jar if I've been too slow eating them.  The only other time I've had a problem with mold is if the mixture was quite sweet or if my cupboard was too cool which slowed fermentation.  However, I've found that adding a sprinkle of salt (up to 1/4 tsp.) on top of the contents in the jar seems to deter mold from forming. 
• The amount of salt is important!  It has to be enough to deter unwanted bacteria, but allow the wanted ones to grow and be edible! I have been using about 2 rounded Tbsp. for 3 liters of mix (2 tsp./1 liter) of fine Himalayan pink salt and have been satisfied with my results.  However, I'm feeling like my body would  like a little less salt, so starting in the spring of 2025, I'm going to try using just 1 1/2 tsp of salt per liter of mix... I have used a little more and a little less and many different kinds of salt, but I like this salt and this feels like a "good" ratio for now...  The kind of salt used makes a big difference too -- a Tbsp. of fine sea salt is quite different from the same amount of coarse salt which is different again from unrefined sea salt... Also my Tbsp's  are NOT exact -- they are often rounded... the mixture should taste a little salty, but not SO salty that it doesn't make good eating...  Also ferments aren't supposed to do well with Iodine, so it's important to use pickling salt, or sea salt rather than regular table salt which has Iodine added.
• Although they can be added to hot foods (under 40 degrees C or 104 degrees F).  They can't be cooked.  Cooking destroys their probiotic benefits as well as much of their nutritional value.  I add them just on the top of hot foods, that have cooled a little just before serving.

This is just how and what I'm using for now.  However, nothing is cast in stone or set in concrete... One never knows where the next steps may lead, how they will feel or what the future may hold....  I may decide, at some point down the road, to do things differently... and what works for me now may not suit you AT ALL...