The ancient art of food preservation was left behind with new invention, and has slowly returned to favor as we recognize, with some chagrin, that these novelties can cost more than their worth.
As I describe our space-age engineering in this way, the word rings true: novelty suggests triviality, connotes superficiality, a side-show trinket, a toss-off. They won’t last; they can’t last; we cook ourselves as we cool ourselves, we burn ourselves out as we speed ourselves up; the math only works if you ignore time.
I am not selling my refrigerator. Meanwhile I am always delighted and empowered and better fed when I learn a new trick in the kitchen, one whose only cost is a few minutes’ time, and uses nothing but the life that exists all around us. Smart Ancients. I am grateful you found so many secrets with so few gadgets.
My friends have been fermenting vegetables at home, and whether there is magic in the life created, or empowering magic in crafting something so healthy with so little work, they all seem more vital, happier, and healthier than I have seen them in months. I clearly recall seeing a friend of mine after a few months on the road: she had been weighted down by a number of health issues, felt physically depressed and mentally foggy; when I walked in the door it was like there was another person standing in front of me. “P—! What have you been doing?!” Vibrant, engaged, present. She replied, “Pickling!”
Some of my scientific colleagues will not be pleased with the apparent subjectivity of that last paragraph. But I saw what I saw, and have felt what I felt when eating raw or fermented foods, so if gene theory can’t figure out what’s going on, it had better get with it.
simple Fermented vegetables
- 2 heads cabbage, shredded, holding back three clean leaves
- 3 carrots, coarsely grated
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- 1½” ginger, chopped fine
- 1T sea salt
Clean everything with boiling water to reduce or weaken potential contaminants. Cut your ingredients as described, and collect them in a large bowl – my big bread bowl was perfect for this “other” kind of fermentation. Sprinkle on non-iodized or sea salt, then knead the vegetables with the salt to mix and “bruise” them. This will begin to produce some brine as the salt extracts moisture from your vegetables.
Take a 2L glass jar with a clamp lid, and put the vegetables into it, packing hard with your knuckles to reduce air space to a minimum. When all the vegetables have been packed in, use a wooden spoon to tuck them in further around the edges and in the middle. Add filtered water if necessary, to bring the level of the brine above the vegetables; this reduces spoiling or molds.
Complete the packing by packing the three clean cabbage leaves like a “lid” on top of the shredded veggies. I use my wooden spoon to tuck the edges of the leaves into the brine around the perimeter of the jar. We are aiming for an anaerobic (mostly airless) seal.
Finally, clamp the top and put is a warm, dry space for a few days. After a couple of days, open the top to check the “ripeness” of the ferment, allow some of the carbon dioxide to escape, and taste the mixture (if you wish) to see if it is to your liking.
When done, transfer the contents to glass containers and store in the fridge. Your fermentation jar is ready for the next batch. Enjoy!
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