Sweet Pepper, Celery Vegetable Medley Lacto-Ferment - Made Jul 15/24

 

- 1 large bunch of celery with leaves chopped

- 3 cups of frozen chopped cauliflower

- 1 sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 7 sweet orange, yellow & green peppers chopped

- 3 meal sized pieces of pumpkin - skin finely grated and flesh diced

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped fennel leaves

- 20 sorrel leaves finely chopped

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 4 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 5 liter mason jars, filled to the shoulder and one partially filled 500 ml. jar. I think this has been my fastest ferment ever...  Probably due to the very hot humid weather we've been having. They sat beside my hot water heater for less than a day before it was clear they were fermenting well so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Yam, Cauliflower & Red Cabbage Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 27/23

- 4 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 1 leaf of green cabbage chopped finely

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen zucchini chopped

- 2 med. onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 3 large sweet potatoes (my parents called them yams), shredded

- 6" diameter head of cauliflower chopped finely

- 18 sorrel leaves with stems from my garden chopped

- stems & leaves from about 20 kohlrabi chopped 

- 3 3/4 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

Using both of my large glass bowls, I was able to mix everything together.  After stirring it well, I let it sit for a few minutes to warm, before transferring it to 5 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in a warm corner by my hot water heater for only 2 days before I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten.... 

Onion & Leek Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 2/23

 

- 35 med./small onions diced

-  4 large leeks -  green & white parts chopped 

-  1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

-  1 /12 cups chopped frozen chard stems

-  a bunch of red meat radish leaves chopped finely

-  8 leaves of red cabbage 

-  5 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I've made an onion/leek mix each fall for a few years.  I use it in the spring, when onions are expensive and don't keep well and like it VERY much... so I'm doing it again this year... However, we've had a VERY wet summer and as I'm peeling the onions, I discover many are already going bad.  This year the fall ones are already how I would expect them to be in the spring.  I therefore, don't think they will keep very well at all... so I've done an extra big batch of fermented ones... 

I mixed it all together and then packed it into 8 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder...  After only 2 days in my warmish cupboard I could see they were fermenting well ,so I moved them to the fridge  to stabilize and be eaten...

Bean/Pea & Oat Lacto-Ferment - Made May 13/23

- 1  cup dried Black-eyed peas

- 1/2 cup of dried Adzuki beans

- 1 1/4 cups dried Black turtle beans
- 2 cups Hulless Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 4 small pieces (approx. 1 1/2" by 1") of sugar kelp seaweed broken up

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- about 3 cups of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems from my garden

- about 1 cup of chopped frozen parsley leaves from my garden

- 3 med.  red beets coarsely grated

- 2 cups of frozen chard stems

- 5 carrots coarsely grated

- 1 small red cabbage about 3 1//2" in diameter chopped finely

- 3 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the beans/peas and  oats separately... the 2 kinds of beans for about 2 1/2 hours, adding the black-eyed peas for the last 1 1/4 hours of cooking time and the oat groats for 1 hour, adding the flakes for the last 20 minutes of cooking time...  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked bean/pea mix which I mashed to make a firm paste and the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 6 liter mason jars packed firmly just to the shoulder...I left them in my warm cupboard over my stove for 2 days, at which point I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

 

Corn Etc. Lacto-Ferment - made Aug 9 /17

- 1/2 of a large zip-lock bag of frozen non-organic corn

- 3 slices of a 4" diameter red cabbage finely chopped

- 1 med. celery root (celeriac) shredded

- 1 large  onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

- 1 large Italian zucchini chopped
- 4 Tbsp. desiccated coconut

- 1 Tbsp. of my cabbage/ celery root & pineapple mix as a starter...  I'm hoping this will be enough since I'm already using cabbage as part of the mix and I notice I've done one with about the same amount of green cabbage and no starter... We'll see...

- 1 1/2 Tbsp  sea salt

I stirred everything except the starter together, then left it out to warm up a little before adding the starter.  This made enough to fill 4 liter mason jars to a little below the shoulder.   I left them in the cupboard for 2 days after they came up to room temperature, which took about a day, so they spent a total of 3 days in the cupboard...  and then moved them to the fridge...

An Update:  This fermented VERY well, so I definitely didn't need more starter and could maybe have used none...  The cabbage also gave it a nice rosy, pink color, which is very pretty to look at...

Celery root (celeriac), Chard Stems & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - made Dec. 24/16

- 3/4 of a large rutabaga coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen chard stems chopped
- 2 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 8 med wild apples - approx. 1 1/2 cups chopped
- 1 large celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 1 med onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 Tbsp. sea salt
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter - added later... see below...

I mixed everything together, then packed it into 3 liter mason jars, and left them in the cupboard for 4 days...  Again I tried this with just the small amount of cabbage instead of using a starter... However, after 1 1/2 days they still weren't fermenting well, so I added 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter.  It seems the two leaves of cabbage aren't enough at least in winter when I start with a COLD mix and put it in a cool cupboard...  I'll refrigerate them when I take them out of the cupboard... They are filled perfectly just to the shoulder... After the addition of the starter they fermented VERY well!

Celery, Cranberry & Beet Lacto-Ferment - made Fri. Dec. 23/16

- 3 med. gold beets coarsely grated

- 1 large bunch of celery with leaves chopped
- 2 leaves of red cabbage finely chopped

- 4 med frozen wild apples chopped - - approx. 1 cup
- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen cranberries sliced 

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 3/4 Tbsp of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter - added later.... see below...

I mixed everything together, then packed it into a 500 ml & 3 liter mason jars, and left them in the cupboard for 7 days... Again I tried this with just the small amount of cabbage instead of using a starter... However, after 2 1/2 days they still weren't fermenting well, so I added 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter.  It seems the two leaves of cabbage aren't enough at least in winter when I start with a COLD mix and put it in a cool cupboard...  I'll refrigerate them when I take them out of the cupboard...  They are a beautiful red color and filled perfectly just to the shoulder.

Beets, because of their high sugar content are supposed to ferment VERY rapidly.  However, I've frequently found them SLOW... This time too, they didn't ferment quickly not even after I added the starter.  In the end they fermented well, but it wasn't a quick process...

Squash, Parsnip & Kohlrabi Lacto-Ferment - made Nov. 27/16

- 5 good sized pieces of frozen atlantic giant pumpkin (squash) chopped (approx. 2 1/2 cups )

- approx. 2 1/2 cups of frozen wild apples chopped 

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 med/large onion chopped

- 4 med. parsnips coarsely grated

- a little less than 1/2 a  large zip-lock bag of frozen kohlrabi chopped (approx. 3 1/2 cups) 
- 3 leaves of red cabbage finely chopped

- 1 1/2 Tbsp  sea-salt

I mixed everything together; completely filling my large glass bowl.  I mashed it down best I could then. let it sit for awhile to warm up before transferring  the mixture to  3 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 4 days, before moving them to the fridge....