Fermented Vegetables are one of the easiest products to make yourself and it is highly nutritious. The reason I like to make my own is so that I know where the ingredients are sourced from. I like to know exactly what is in the food I’m eating.
Making Fermented Vegetables is so interesting to me. I don’t know about you, but when I was younger I was under the impression that if something was fermenting it meant it was rotten. Wow, was I wrong. It is incredible how you can make such a healthy dish from the bacteria in your environment. These minute microbes are living in the air in the country we live in and that determines the correct bugs for our gut. I’d go as far as to say that this is miraculous.
You add salt to the mixture while you’re pounding it to ‘sanities’ the vegetables. This gets rid of any bad bacteria so that you’re left with a healthy end product. You pound the vegetables together to help release the liquid stored in the cell walls of the veggies and you’re left with a brine. Place all the vegetables mixture into a sterilised Mason Jar and push it down with a wooden spoon to get rid of any air bubbles. You can find Ball Glass Mason Jars at Le Bono Collection here.
Once you’ve done this you can pour the brine over the top and use a weight to keep the vegetables submerged. This will help with the fermenting process. I use a small Ziplock bag filled with water as my weight, but you can also use the outer cabbage leaves. You roll them up tightly and place them on top of the mixture. If you’re a fermenting fanatic, you can buy glass weights especially designed for this purpose on Amazon. Place the Ball Mason jar lid on.
Then, the magic happens. You leave it in a warm, dark place for a couple of days and it will bubble and ferment and produce an abundance of good bacteria. Start by adding a tablespoon to your meals at a time as you slowly introduce the good bacteria into your gut. If you have candida or any bad bacteria in your gut, it could possibly trigger a reaction. This reaction is usually diarrhoea or bloating and perhaps a headache. Take note of any symptoms and cut back a bit if you feel you’re reacting at all.
I would love to know if you’ve tried to make Fermented Vegetables before and what your experience was like.
- 1 Head Cabbage White
- 1 Head Cabbage Red
- 2 Large Carrots Grated
- 3 Cloves Garlic Finely grated
- 1 Tbsp Sea Salt Or Himalayan Salt
- 200 Mls Kefir Water Or filtered water
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Finely Chop cabbage into a large bowl.
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Add grated Carrot, Garlic and the Salt and combine.
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Cover vegetable mixture with a dish towel and let sit for 20 minutes.
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Pound the mixture with a meat cleaver or a rolling pin, so that the juices are extracted from the vegetables and the vegetables soften.
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Place the vegetables in a sterilised large mason jar and push the vegetables down so that they are compact and there are no air bubbles.
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Pour the remaining liquid on top of the vegetable mixture.
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Fill a small Ziplock bag half way with water and place on TOP of the vegetables and liquid. This acts as a weight so that no air gets into the mixture.
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Leave the mason jar on a plate in a warm place and it will start to ferment. Depending on which climate you live in, the vegetables should reach their fermentation peak at 2-3 days. You will see the mixture bubbling and the plate will catch the excess liquid.
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Once your vegetables have fermented, place the lid on and keep it refrigerated.
Introduce a tablespoon of fermented vegetables per day and increase the amount from there if you don’t experience any detox symptoms.
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