The Complete Guide to Fermenting Every Single Vegetable

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It’s August but why am I thinking about winter? Well for thousands of years that’s what humans did in order to survive the colder months of the year. It wasn’t until very recently with the invention of refrigeration and the explosion of the modern food industry have we've departed from the ancient food preservation techniques that were used to preserve and eat nutrient rich food all year round.

Well it turns out, we actually adapted to eat preserved food and not just fresh food all year round. Fermentation unlocks certain nutrients that aren’t available in fresh food that can provide major health benefits by consuming them in your diet.

In this video, I’ll be focusing on one specific fermentation technique called lacto fermentation (yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut) that converts starches in your food to lactic acid. By learning a simple formula of salt and water, you can pretty much take any fresh veggie you find in the market and preserve it to unlock incredible flavors and health benefits in your food!

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[zeoxbg]

Nice Job!
I'm from Bulgaria, and we do ferment veggies as far as anyone can remember.
You should definetely try some of the Balkan combinations, I am sure you will love them.
The most classic recipe is a mix of Cauliflower, Carrots and Sweet Peppers (a fleshier variety, we use a sort that is round and almost looks like a tomato) as for flavoring, a few straws of Celery are a must (Or maybe a piece of celery root), a few pieces of onion 1-2 cloves of Garlic, and eventually coriander or allspice if you like it. A lot of people add green tomatoes to the mix, but I really hate those, so I prefer to keep them out of the mix. Others like adding gherkins, but they don't fement quite right in this mixture, I prefer them when they are fermented separately (just gherkins and some spices). You can also add ocra, but make sure it is really young and tender. Old ocra sucks in pickled form. Same goes for green beans (I am actually happy they got spoiled :D)
Another recipe that I really love is Sour Garlic... which is just pickled garlic. You pickle the whole garlic heads without separating the cloves. You just remove the flaky stuff from outside and proceed with the brine. I just love that.
And a small trick I know from older folks, that prevents mold even if some part of the veggies is above water.... You place a tablet of aspirin on the bottom of the jar before adding the veggies, and then another one on top, after you have added the brine. With this addition fermented veggies can last for at least two years.
And yet another trick. During the first stages of fermentation it is good to turn the jars upside down every day or two.

There are many cool recipes that I haven't even tried. I've heard of pickled grapes, which sounds quite interresting. And also pickled baby watermelons (It turns out, that when you grow watermelons, at a certain point you have to remove some of them from the stem, to provide more nutrients for the others.... So instead of throwing them away, you picjle them) :)

[thomaskrafft]

It’s so fun and refreshing to see someone get to do what they love and get paid for it. Clearly you have found your niche and we get to enjoy and learn. Cheers from Colorado!

[jarchiec]

one of the tricks i use to keep the mold away is to invert my jars for at least an hour each day. what was out of the water...is now in the water. what might have had mold started...is not in a salty anaerobic environment. Once I started inverting my jars (after burping) daily...I've never had mold since.

[debmalouin]

Mike I just want to say Ive just spend a couple weeks fighting Covid & binge watching your videos.Im a fairly experienced cook & have taught some cooking & basic nutrition classes over the years. Cooking is one of my passions. Its an art. I am Very impressed with what you share. You're interesting, well rounded & have Great content. Thankyou

[Tehstool]

1. Wash your veggies of choice.
2. Cut them up into bite sized pieces.
3. Add the vegetables and water into a jar whose weight has been tared (zeroed out). Weigh them.
4. Pour water into separate jar and add salt equal to 2.5% of the mass. Mix up and then put back into the original jar with the vegetables in it.
5. Weigh it down so the vegetables stay submerged. A glass weight seems to be the easiest.
6. Cover loosely with the lid.
7. Enjoy at your leisure for months if stored properly.

Did I miss anything?

[fredsavage]

Let's resume 23min of video in a sentence and a half : Add 2.5% of salt to the weight of your veggies + water. Keep your stuff submerged.

[isgztjz]

Hello
I am a Korean YouTuber who loves fermented foods.
I came to YouTube in search of fermented food from abroad.
Thanks for the good video.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year

[pantomathic]

Since the beginning of this year, I've had the idea of fermenting fruits and vegetables; but I had no knowledge about the process. I've been doing research for the past month on fermentation, and everyone seemed to have a drastically different process from the last. Recently, I stumbled across this channel, and I wish I would've found it sooner (because this channel is life-changing).

Today, I can proudly say I learned something useful from YouTube, I can also say I know how to ferment (almost anything) like a pro. I love the visuals and how you go into depth about the dos and don'ts of fermentation. I'm gonna subscribe now, and then start fermenting all the vegetables I can find in the pantry.

[idnwiw]

Ideal temperature 15 - 24°C for anyone interested

[rachelpredicts]

Thank you so much for this video. I have been so intimidated about starting fermenting, and even though I pretty much knew the basics about it, watching you go through every little step just helped me wrap my head around it better.

[mattcronin]

Mistake I've made a few times without realizing what was causing the mold - if you use spices like peppercorn, or red pepper flakes, they'll float to the top above the weight and attract mold. So, I'd avoid veggies with seeds, like sliced cucumbers, and using spices that float like that.

[DonnaLorenzen]

Such a straight forward explanation of the process; exactly what I needed. I've been wanting to try fermentation when I have a small harvest from the garden that doesn't warrant the full canning process and to try some new flavor combinations.

[Rafaelgarbulho]

06:05 Understanding the process
12:18 key tips for fermenting
18:27 Pickling timeline
u welcome folks

[richheckman]

Excellent vid! Unless I missed it, you failed to mention that one must NOT use table salt for fermentation. The iodine inhibits the growth of the good bacteria. Use something like Celtic, sea, Redmon, pink, or pickling/canning salt. I liked this vid because you kept it moving. Your editing kept my interest. Definitely an excellent vid for the fermenting beginner!

[jauipop]

I did pickling/fermenting a few years ago here in Malaysia - the challenge I had was the space needed and refrigeration required because I'm in a tropical climate. It was also hard to find the pickle weights, but will try your alternate tips!
Planning to start a small pickling business connected to an organic farm that my family runs here. Will see if I can dig deeper underground and actually have a naturally cooler environment without having to use up energy on refrigeration.

[Skoben]

A little tip for covering your pickled vegetables during the fermentation stage is to place a coffee filter on top of the jar and use the lid ring. Set the metal lid insert to the side until it has fermented. This allows it to ferment in the jar and yet release the gas through the screwed on filter while keeping dust/dirt out. After it's fermented, you can then replace the filter with the metal lid to store it properly in the fridge.

[sheiladiaz]

Thanks for adding the “why’s”
Very helpful to not only understanding, but also remembering. Really great content as usual. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[ladytyphon]

Im so glad i stuck around through those months that the channel was struggling with its direction. You have your mojo back!!

[ddr]

Thank you for putting this out! We put up several quarts of tomatoes and okra from our garden today using your video as our guide. So excited!! ☺️

[aestheticboutique]

I appreciated the visual explanation! Exactly the video I needed to help me learn how to ferment foods and what’s actually happening during the fermentation process that is beneficial to my health. Thanks!