Fermenting - feeding your gut and your biome

I have always loved sauerkraut, a fermented cabbage with its origins in Eastern Europe but never realised how healthy it was for me.  I have been reading about feeding your gut and it all suggests that we need to eat more fermented foods including live yogurts, keffir (a fermented milk drink like a thin yogurt) and of course the cabbages like sauerkraut, red cabbage and kimchi (a Korean fermented Chinese cabbage with chilli).

Fermenting is one of the oldest techniques for preserving foods and is part of many current cultures today.

Lakeland have a range of fermenting jars which make the whole process really, really easy.  The jars come in three sizes; 1.2 litre, 1.4 litre and 1.8 litre.  The lids have a special valve to let the bad air out however not letting in any air or germs to ruin your fermentation.  There is no need to 'burp' the jars as this is done with the valve.

For my first fermentation I wanted to make sauerkraut, one of my favourite foods for years.  I think my German heritage along with living in Austria for a couple of years made this an essential food.

After finely slicing the cabbage (avoiding the thick bits of the core) and mixing 1 kilo in a large bowl with 25 gm of salt, mixing well with your hands until the cabbage feels wet (this would be a great time to add some caraway seeds if you wan to use them) you put it into your fermenting jar a handful at a time.  After each handful pack the cabbage down as hard as you can.  Place a small plate or ramekin filled with baking beans and wrapped in cling foil on top to keep the cabbage submerged or you can get some special glass 'pebbles' from Lakeland to keep the cabbage submerged. You then can put the lid on and push the valve stopper down.

All set and ready to keep an eye on and check every day that the cabbage is submerged.  After 4-5 days when you like the taste you can keep it in the fridge, the cold will stop the fermentation process.

My second attempt at fermentation was a carrot and ginger ferment.  Peel the carrots and ginger and cut into thin match stick slices.

Firmly pack into the jar and cover with a brine made with 25gm of salt per litre of cooled boiled water.

Now I was on a roll, enjoying my sauerkraut and the carrot and ginger match sticks fermenting away it was time to try Kimchi.  Kimchi is a fermented Chinese cabbage with garlic and chilli as well as thinkly sliced spring onions and for a real hit you can use some white radish.  It is important to wear protective gloves if you handle the chilli because you will certainly know it if you accidentally rub an eye before washing your hands!

Kimchi is ready to leave at room temperature and the fermenting can begin.  To keep the cabbage submerged I have put a couple of little ramekins filled with baking beans and wrapped in cling film on top.

I am now looking around for what to ferment next! We had just picked some fresh beetroot from the allotment so I decided to give that a try.  I peeled the raw beetroot and sliced it all very thinly.  Cover with the brine made with 25 gms salt per 1 litre cooled boiled water and add the weights to keep the beetroot submerged.  The beetroot was quite lively and fizzed out a bit at first so I now keep it on a plate.

After the beetroot has been fermented I think I will pickle it

And finally I am trying fermented red cabbage. The procedure is exactly the same as for sauerkraut.

I am now thinking what else can be fermented.  I have a hankering after trying to ferment cherries.  Keep checking out this blog to see how I get on with the fermented cherries.

The next step in my quest to feed my gut is to make my own 'live' yogurt.  Fortunately Lakeland have a range of yogurt makers and even luckier I got one for my birthday last year!

I was sent a selection of fermenting jars from Lakeland  but was not required to write a positive review. All opinions and photos are my own. No photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

Pyrex Slows Things Down with their New Slow Cooker

Slow cookers are the 'in' way of cooking these days. You just put things into the pot and forget about it for a few hours.  Pyrex, known for their great glass cooking dishes have brought out an enamelled cast iron slow cooker.  It is great for simmering due to its superior heat retention properties. It comes in different sizes and is suitable for a range of cookers. Mine is the 20cm - 2.2L which is the smallest and holds loads.You can use it on the hob or pop it into the oven. They are easy to clean and come in a vibrant red.

I wanted to cook some sauerkraut after trying some of Ren Behan's Polish bigos.  I have long loved sauerkraut from my days living in Austria and Germany.

I started with a little bit of olive oil,

then into the pot I added some chopped smoked bacon, a piece of choritzo and a red onion finely chopped and sauteed until the onion was getting soft and the bacon and choritzo was cooked.  I tipped in a jar of sauerkraut, a red pepper and three carrots grated into the pot. 

 

 

 

To this mixture I added ground pepper, sea salt, caraway seeds, a tablespoon of tomato puree, paprika and a glass of water. You want some moisture but not too much so that you keep the texture since you do not want to boil the kraut.  Instead of water you could add a glass of white wine or a lager.

A couple of sprigs of thyme from my allotment and the whole pot went into the oven on a lowish to medium heat for about two and a half hours.  The smell in the house was absolutely heavenly!

I served the sauerkraut with a homemade potato salad and bratwurst.  We sat outside on a summer evening, dinner on the plate and a glass of wine in the hand. Perfect!!