by Amber Rose
500g carrots, grated
1 garlic bulb, minced
4 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons freshly grated turmeric
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3–5 tablespoons pure sea salt
EQUIPMENT
2 or 3 large glass jars (about 1 litre each) or 5 or 6 smaller ones, sterilised
Put the cabbage in a large bowl along with all the other ingredients, initially with only 3 tablespoons of sea salt. Pound the cabbage for a few minutes using a cabbage crusher or, if you don’t have one, throw on a pair of latex gloves and massage the cabbage by hand – just keep going until the cabbage is breaking down and releasing all its lovely juices. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. The kraut should not be too salty, but should have plenty of flavour brought out by the salt. Keep pounding or massaging with your hands until the cabbage breaks down further and releases all its juices. This process can take a little while, at least 15 minutes, because you need enough liquid to cover the cabbage in its own brine when pressed down in the jars.
Put the cabbage mix into one or two glass jars, pressing the cabbage down hard to submerge it in the brine. If necessary, add some lightly salted water to cover the vegetables. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and set on the worktop away from any heat source and leave it to ferment. You must ‘burp’ the cabbage once a day to release the pressure or your jar may explode. To do this, slowly open the lid and allow the gases to escape before carefully replacing the lid.
Leave the sauerkraut to culture at room temperature (15–20°C is preferred) until the desired flavour is reached. I find five days is about right, but it can take anything from three to seven or eight days, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. I like to start tasting my batch after about three days and finish the ferment when I like the flavour. If I want a stronger ferment, I tend to leave it the full eight days, but tasting gives you a good indication of where it’s at. Alternatively, if it is fermenting in a very cool place – say a cool, dark cellar – then you can leave it for several weeks if not months. The longer and slower the fermentation process, the more flavour it develops.
Once the kraut is finished, transfer it to a very cool place, preferably the fridge, and allow it to mature for one month. Once opened, consume within a few weeks.
Spicy red cabbage sauerkraut.
MAKES 2 X 750ML JARS
This is my take on a naturally fermented pickle I came across from a fantastic online shop based in the UK called The Cultured Cellar. I came up with this recipe because I travel a lot and wanted to enjoy it in other countries. Made with red cabbage and beetroot it’s a bit spicy, a bit tangy and deeply delicious. Try it with cold meats, in a sandwich, with roast meat and salad or with cheese and crackers.
1 medium head of red cabbage, finely shredded
1–3 tablespoons sea salt
1 beetroot, peeled and cut into tiny cubes
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 red onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
EQUIPMENT
Cabbage crusher
2 x 750ml glass jars, sterilised
Put the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt, starting with 1 tablespoon and adding more to taste as you go. The salt not only helps to break down the cabbage, it also keeps the bad bacteria at bay, so don’t be afraid of adding a generous amount. Pound the cabbage with a cabbage crusher or potato masher (or knead with clean hands) for about 10 minutes or until there is enough liquid to cover the cabbage.
Add the remaining ingredients and pound or knead again until everything has come together and is thoroughly mixed.
Stuff the mix into the glass jars and seal with a tight-fitting lid. Culture at room temperature (15–20°C is preferred) until the desired flavour is achieved (start tasting after three days). I usually leave mine for about five days and then transfer to the fridge, but it can take as little as three or as long as seven to eight days.
Once you have transferred the sauerkraut to the fridge, leave it for a further three to four weeks for the flavours to develop before eating.
Mexican pickled red onions.
MAKES 1 225G JAR
(A LITTLE GOES ALONG WAY)
These pretty pink pickles are a typical topping for Yucatan-style pork or seafood dishes. I love serving them with my cauliflower or quinoa tortillas, salsa and some slow-cooked pork or pan-fried fish to make delicious Mexican tortillas. You could also add some refried beans for serious indulgence. Onions contain high amounts of prebiotics. These are non-digestible fibres that make their way through the digestive tract and they are what the probiotics feed on, so by eating lots of prebiotics you are supporting the growth of all the friendly bacteria within your gut. Win-win again.
20 whole black peppercorns
8 allspice berries
1 whole clove
½ generous teaspoon mexican dried oregano
1 large red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
60ml raw apple cider vinegar
60ml freshly squeezed lime juice
Start by pounding the peppercorns, allspice berries, clove and oregano using a pestle and mortar until you have a rough powder.
Put the onion into a medium bowl, with the spice mixture and salt. Use your hands to firmly scrunch and massage the onion, tossing lightly as you do. Add the vinegar and lime juice and toss well.
Transfer the mixture to a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, and put in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours. Give the jar an occasional shake.
The pickled onions keep in the fridge for up to five days.
Fermented vegetables.
MAKES 1 LITRE JAR
These are the perfect ferment for the beginner as you really can’t go wrong. They are super tasty, even the kids love them. I often put a small plate on the dinner table just before I serve the evening meal, as the pickles help us digest food due to the high amount of enzymes and probiotics. They are also immune boosting and gut healing. They will last for months in the fridge and will actually get more flavoursome as time goes by. My two favourite combinations are carrots with cauliflower and radishes with dill, both super easy and wonderfully delicious.
EQUIPMENT
1-litre jar, sterilised
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 litre filtered or spring water (must be chlorine-free)
Enough raw veg to tightly fill a 1 litre glass jar
For the carrots and cauliflower
3 garlic cloves, very slightly crushed, but still intact
⅔ (roughly) whole cauliflower cut into florets, rinsed in cold water (or enough to fill your jar)
3–4 large carrots, cut into chunky bite-size pieces
2 teaspoons of Za’atar, or 2–3 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
3 fresh bay leaves
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
For the radishes with dill
Enough small radishes to fill your jar, halved
4 sprigs of fresh dill
½ teaspoon dill seeds
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Never use chlorinated tap water when fermenting. The chlorine will stop the good bacteria from flourishing and the veg will simply rot.
Start by making the salt brine: dissolve the salt in the cold water and set aside.
Place your chosen veg into the glass jar, tip in the spices and leaves and pour over the brine. Cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid, and place on a worktop or pantry shelf to ferment. Culture at room temperature (15-20°C is preferred) until the desired flavour and texture are achieved. This can take anywhere from three days and up to seven, depending on
how warm your kitchen is. You will need to burp the pickles daily to release excess pressure. To do this, slowly open the lid and allow the gases to escape before carefully placing the lid back on. This will prevent your jar from exploding under the pressure that fermenting causes.
Once the vegetables are finished, transfer the jar to the fridge or a cold cellar. The flavours will continue to develop with time.
The pickles are ready to eat once chilled and will last for many months in the fridge. Don’t throw away the pickle juice: it’s amazing added to bowls of broth for a little flavour and probiotic boost, and can also be used as a starter to speed up the process for the next jar of pickles. You could also add a little to salad dressings.
Wild fermented spicy dill and cucumber pickles.
MAKES 2.2 LITRE JAR
These beautifully crunchy and tasty pickles are a great way of using up a glut of cucumbers. They are great as an accompaniment for cheese or for making tartare sauce if you use the smaller sized cucumbers. As they are naturally fermented they are jam-packed with gut-friendly probiotics, which boost the immune system, support a healthy digestive system and promote the growth of friendly bacteria within the micro biome (gut).
EQUIPMENT
4 x 550ml jars or 2 x 1.1-litre jars or 1 x 2.2-litre jar, sterilised
5 tablespoons sea salt
2.2 litres chlorine-free water – filtered or spring water is best
3 teaspoons black peppercorns
1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
3 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
6–10 garlic cloves
2 bunches of dill
Pickling cucumbers, medium or small, to fill your jars
Tannin-containing leaf
Dissolve the sea salt in the cold water. Set aside.
Mix the spices together in a small bowl and set aside.
Place the cloves, a few of the sprigs of dill and half the spices in a large glass or ceramic mixing bowl. Mix lightly to combine and place this mixture in the jar/s.
Pack half the cucumbers tightly on top of the spices. Repeat with a layer of garlic and spices, add another tightly packed layer of cucumbers and top them off with more garlic and spices.
Pour the brine over the pickles, leaving a little bit of headspace at the top of the jar to allow for the ferment to expand. Place a tannin-containing leaf on top of the pickles as a cover between the pickles and the surface of the brine. You can use a cabbage leaf instead, to keep the pickles under the brine.
Cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid and ferment at a steady room temperature (15–20°C is preferred) until you like they way they taste.
This can take anywhere from three or four days up to a full week depending on how warm your kitchen is. These pickles will stay crunchy and will taste better if they can ferment in quite a cool place but not as cold as the fridge. Burp daily to release excess pressure – if too much pressure builds up, the jars can explode.
As the cucumbers ferment, the brine may turn cloudy and the pickling liquor will become fizzy and tangy. The pickles should taste deliciously tangy and sourish when done.
Eat right away, or store in the refrigerator for several months, eating as and when you like.
Keeping cucumbers crunchy during fermentation
Add a tannin-containing agent to the pickling jars. Black tea leaves, oak leaves, grape leaves or horseradish leaves all work well. Add a few larger leaves or a good teaspoon or so of loose tea or a teabag to a 2 litre jar.
Ferment at the coolest temperature you can achieve. A fast, hot fermentation can result in a less-than-stellar crunch to a pickle.
Try small, whole cucumbers first. They tend to retain their crunch better than a chopped-up larger cucumber.
Remove the blossom end – it contains enzymes that soften pickles. Removing it will preserve the firm texture.
If the cucumber is harvested a bit later in the year or has been on the vine a little longer, it will develop a thicker skin. Use a skewer or paring knife to prick a hole in each cucumber. The brine can penetrate faster and the cucumbers will culture more evenly.
Pickled lemons.
MAKES 1.5 LITRE JAR
These deliciously tangy pickled lemons work really well in yogurt sauces or dressings. The flavour of the lemons works really well in Moroccan dishes, especially tagines or slow, meltingly tender roasts. Because they are naturally fermented, they will give you a massive boost of vitamin C as well as loads of beneficial friendly bacteria. They keep for up to two years in the storecupboard.
EQUIPMENT
1.5-litre glass jar or fermenting crock, sterilised
10–12 unwaxed lemons, depending on size (thin-skinned lemons work very well), sliced into thin rings then into half moons
4 tablespoons plain kombucha or raw apple cider vinegar
250ml lemon juice
6 tablespoons sea salt
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
Filtered water, at room temperature
Put the lemon slices into the clean jar or crock and compress slightly with the back of your hand. Mix the kombucha or vinegar with the lemon juice in a bowl and add the salt.
Pour the lemon juice mixture into the jar. Sprinkle over the seasonings, pushing the bay leaf down the side of the jar, along with the cinnamon stick. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to release any air bubbles. Top the mixture off with filtered water to 2.5cm below the rim of the jar. Give the jar a little swirl to mix the water with the brine.
Cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid and set aside on the worktop or pantry shelf. Culture at room temperature (15–20°C is preferred) for two to three weeks. Burp the lemons daily – slowly open the lid and let the ferment breath for a minute before putting the lid back on.
Once the lemons are finished, store somewhere cold or in the fridge. The flavours will continue to develop, even in the fridge.
To use your lemons, scoop the pulp away and use the skin, thinly sliced, or use both the pulp and skin according to your taste.
Kimchi.
MAKES 1 LITRE JAR
If you have never had this amazing pickle before, you may be a little wary, going by its smell, but if you love bold flavours, chilli and pickles, then this is going to hit the spot. Try to find Korean red pepper flakes, which have a slightly sweet smoky flavour. Otherwise, use any red chilli flakes, but the flavour will not be quite like the original. I am totally addicted to its wonderfully sour taste – like pickles, but without the vinegar. Because it’s naturally fermented, like sauerkraut, it’s incredibly good for your immune system and digestion.
EQUIPMENT
Latex gloves (optional)
1-litre glass jar, sterilised with a tight-fitting lid
1 large Chinese cabbage
35g sea salt
Several litres of spring water or mineral water (or filtered water, as long as it’s chlorine free)
1 tablespoon grated garlic (about 5–6 medium cloves)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon unrefined sugar
4 tablespoons good-quality fish sauce
1–5 tablespoons korean red pepper flakes (or use any red chilli flakes if you can’t find the korean)
1 mooli (daikon), peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
Quarter the cabbage lengthways and remove the inner cores. Cut each quarter across into 3cm strips.
Tip the cabbage into a large bowl and, using your hands, gently massage the salt into the cabbage until it starts to soften a little – this will take 1–2 minutes. Once it has softened, add enough water to cover the cabbage. Place a plate over the top and weigh it down with an unopened jar or can. Set it aside and let it sit for 1–2 hours.
Pour off the brine into a separate bowl or jug and reserve.
To make the paste, combine the garlic, ginger, sugar and fish sauce in small bowl and mix to form a paste. Mix in the Korean red pepper flakes, using 1 tablespoon for mild or up to 5 tablespoons (which is what I like) for a more fiery taste.
Take the large bowl used for salting the cabbage, make sure it is clean, then put in all the vegetables and the paste, again using your hands to bring it all together, massaging the seasoning into the veg really well. You can use Latex gloves for this to protect your hands from chilli or stains or smells.
Pack the kimchi into the clean jar, pressing it down really well. Pour in enough of the reserved brine to cover all the veg completely – you won’t need much but everything needs to be submerged. Leave about 4cm of headspace at the top of the jar.
Seal the jar and leave at room temperature for between three and five days, longer if you’re feeling brave. I like to leave mine for five days. You will see bubbles inside the jar and brine may seep out the top, so sit the jar in a bowl or on a plate to catch the overflow.
Check the kimchi once a day, pressing down the veg with a clean spoon to keep them submerged – this will release the gases created during the fermentation process. You can taste it each day, starting from around day three, to check for desired sourness and ripeness.
When it’s ready, place the kimchi in the fridge. You can eat it straight away but it’s best if you leave it for a couple of weeks to develop. Kimchi is now a staple in my household, I am completely addicted.
Vinegar.
Blackberry and elderberry vinegar.
MAKES 800ML
Homemade vinegars are a wonderful ingredient to have in your kitchen. Good-quality vinegar is a must when making delicious salad dressings, and making your own vinegar will yield amazing results. You can make your own mother vinegar, but I have chosen just to add the flavoured kinds here, which are really easy to make.