Not a big secret that I love to work in the kitchen and to come up with new ideas. Trying new ways of cooking is inspirational to me. My latest toy is currently my new Sous-Vide Stick. But until I share the results with you, there will be some time left. The selection of recipes is just too big. Another exciting way of preserving food, not just preserving it but giving it added value, is fermenting. Do not worry, my recipe for fermented vegetables with turmeric & chili and some thyme shows how easy it is.
he vegetables are stacked with herbs and spices in a jar and infused with a 2% saline solution.
What is fermenting? In fermentation, microorganisms and enzymes convert natural substances into gases, acids and alcohols. Mainly sugar and starch are broken down. Most of us are certainly familiar with sauerkraut, sourdough or sour milk products like kefir or buttermilk. Everything sounds very chemical, it is somehow too. Nevertheless, fermentation is a new trend in the kitchen.
WHY FERMENTED VEGETABLES ARE SO HEALTHY AND HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT?
- The fermentation reduces the sugar and starch, making it easier to digest.
- Dietary fiber and most vitamins, minerals are retained during fermentation.
- Food is made more durable. So if you have food that you can not use, think if you can ferment it.
- The shelf life of vegetables is achieved without preservatives.
- By fermenting the taste of the food comes out more intense.
- Your creativity has no limits. You can play with a variety of vegetables, herbs and spices.
- The taste of the vegetables changes, depending on how long you ferment the vegetables.
- The number of healthy lactic acid bacteria is increasing.
- You support your digestive tract and your immune system because of better gut health.
Your creativity has no limits in fermentation. You can experiment with a variety of vegetables as well as herbs and spices.
During fermentation, it is important that your vegetables are always covered by saline solution. I simply weigh my vegetables down with the lid of a smaller glass. You can also take disinfected stones.
As mentioned above, fermentation increases the number of healthy lactic acid bacteria, so called probiotics. In addition to the positive health effect, I especially like the taste. Fermented vegetables are a great accompaniment to an appetizer salad or as an accompaniment to fried potatoes with fried eggs. With me there is my fermented vegetables with turmeric & chili and thyme often as a small snack in between. For my Beluga Lentils with Pumpkin Goat Cream Cheese Mousse I fermented some Pumpkin with Anise for example to accompany the dish.
Great vegetables for fermentation are especially solid vegetables such as all cabbages or tuber vegetables. I have already worked with beetroot, beets, radish, fennel, red cabbage, white cabbage, carrots, onions or radish. For seasoning you can use garlic, mustard seeds, chili, turmeric, horseradish, thyme, marjoram, mint, cinnamon, anise or other spices.
It is important to work as sterile as possible. Rinse the glasses with boiling water, just like the lid or the glass, stone with which you want to weigh down the vegetables. The vegetables must be covered with saline solution all the time so that it does not come into contact with air. Air could cause mold. I usually weigh my vegetables down with smaller glasses, which I may fill with water to make them heavier. As you can see on my picture, I am a fan of the cover solution. Simply a lid that fits exactly in the glass. The saline solution pushes the lid and thus the vegetables down.
Fermentation changes the color of the vegetables. You see, the fennel has taken on the color of turmeric. The radishes are just beautiful pink.
Fermented Vegetables with Turmeric & Chili
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Ingredients
What do you need for making Fermented Vegetables with Turmeric & Chili?
- 54 oz Water
- 3 tbsp. Sea Salt
- 1 bunch Red radishes
- 1/3 Radish
- 1/8 Red Cabbage very small Red Cabbage head
- 1 Turmeric freshly grated
- 6 twigs Thyme fresh
- 1/2 tbsp. Chili Flakes You can also use fresh Chili and more Chili.
Instructions
How do you make Fermented Vegetables with Turmeric & Chili?
- Boil the water with the salt and let cool. The salt has to dissolve completely.
- Rinse the two preserving jars with boiling water and the one with which you want to weigh down the vegetables (or the lid).
- Wash the vegetables. Halve the radishes. Peel and slice the radish. Cut the red cabbage into strips that are not too thin.
- Wash the thyme and put a few twigs into a glass. Either mix the vegetables when you stack them or an individual jar for each vegetable. While doing so, sprinkle the chili on the vegetables. Peel the turmeric and grate it in the glass. There should be some space left at the top.
- Poor the cooled down saline solution. For example, weigh the vegetables down with an inverted lid and press lightly downwards.
- Close well with a boiled lid. The vegetables need to be totally covered with saline solution.
- Store the glasses in the dark and not too warm. Every 2-3 days look for the vegetables. The fermentation produces gases. You will see that bubbles are rising in your glass. Do not worry, no glass has burst or overflowed with me … yet. If You think there is too much pressure, just slightly twist your lid on the jar to release some pressure and close again.
- The vegetables must ferment for at least 3 days. I usually leave my vegetables for 10-14 days. The longer the fermentation takes, the more acidic your vegetables become and the more durable.
- After 10 days you can open the first glass and try with a fork once. Please do not use your fingers if you want to keep fermenting it. If you close it again, make sure everything is covered with saline.
- Once the right taste is achieved for you, put the glass with the liquid in the refrigerator, this will stop the fermentation.
- Enjoy!
