Remember in the last post, I told you I was working on a little project? Well, I'm hoping that this little project will someday become a big project, but for right now, let me tell you about my newest hobby/obsession.
I have begun to ferment vegetables. I'm doing something called lactic-acid fermentation, an ancient form of preservation. Freezing and canning are both ways to preserve your fresh produce, but both cause a loss of flavor, texture, and most importantly, vitamins and minerals. Fermenting vegetables not only preserves the nutrients, it actually makes them easier for our bodies to absorb!
Fun facts about fermenting:
It not only preserves, but enhances B and C vitamins
It makes nutrients more readily available
It aids in digestion
There are no chemical preservatives involved
It helps support the immune system
To begin this undertaking, I needed to learn about what exactly was going on inside the crock. This gets a little "sciencey" (just made that word up), but it's a pretty simple process. You see, all fresh fruits and vegetables are covered in microorganisms, which is not a bad thing. They come from everywhere; the plant surface, soil, air, water. Some are bad, some good. It's not just bacteria, but also molds and yeasts. Everything is just there, hanging out, until the plant is harvested. Then the race against time begins, because the microorganisms are clinging to where the plant is cut, or anywhere it may have gotten bruised or damaged. All these little buggers are just waiting for their turn to alter the vegetables. What fermenting does is choose the good bacteria over the bad stuff. It allows the lactic-acid forming bacteria to take over. And how, you may ask, do we promote this good bacteria? What is the magic formula?
SALT.
Ok, you can go home now. I told you the secret.
But seriously, how cool is it that just a little salt can preserve vegetables and maintain all of their nutritive value? Here's how it works.
Salt draws the juices out of the vegetable's cells, creating the all-important brine. The brine is the key here. Lactic-acid bacteria are anaerobic, which means they don't need oxygen. By working under brine, they can do their magic without any of the other oxygen-needing bacteria being able to get involved.
Salt hardens the pectin in the cells of vegetables, helping to keep the crispness.
Salt inhibits the growth of yeasts, which will break down the sugars in vegetables into alcohol instead of lactic acid. No boozy beans for us!
For our purposes, we want salt that is as untouched and unrefined as possible. I use Himalayan salt.
Science lesson is over for today. Now, I'm going to show you my first project. Sauerkraut. Never, in my life, did I think I would get so excited about fermented cabbage, but DANG, it's good. I am now eating kraut every day, and can't wait to try more varieties. I love the looks I get when I tell people I ate a tomato and kraut sandwich for lunch.
Kraut is shredded cabbage and salt, pounded together, and packed into a crock to ferment. Seriously, you just slice down the cabbage, mix it with salt, pound on it, and the juices start to flow. Pack it in your crock, cover it with some cleaned whole cabbage leaves, called a "primary follower", then a secondary follower (could be a plate) and weight. I have a ceramic weight, and also sometimes use a zippy bag filled with water as weight. Cover loosely with a dishcloth, and set somewhere cool and dark. Check daily. Make sure there is enough brine to keep it completely covered, or the bad bacteria can get in.
Woot, there it is! There are other details, but I'm not here trying to teach you to do your own fermenting. I'm here to tell you that I'm going to attempt to start a little home business. I have the name picked out any everything. I'll tell you in a few days. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures of my kraut experience.
Tomorrow, we will learn about brine fermentation, and I'll show you my pickles!
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