Fermenting Vegetables is Easy and Delish!

I was reading an article that mentioned fermented foods and how beneficial they were. This was nothing new to me, though the only fermented item I ever ingest is the occasional kombucha.

I never particularly loved kombucha as many people do (although my housemate has been brewing some really good kombucha lately – either that or my tastebuds are changing again). I would drink it because I knew it would do good things for my digestive system. The vinegary taste is not my favorite. Same reason I’ve never met a pickle I liked. Probably the same reason alcohol has never appealed to me. The stuff just ain’t tasty to my palate!

When I read in the article that fermenting vegetables was as easy as sealing some organic cabbage in a jar with its own juices and some salt and letting it sit a few days, I decided to give it a try. I even told myself that if it tasted vinegary that I would just mix it with some other stuff until I could bear to eat it.

What I did:

1. Shredded 3/4 of an organic cabbage in my food processor, then put it in a large bowl. I saved 3 or 4 of the outer leaves for step 4 below.
2. Placed the other 1/4 of cabbage in my Blendtec with some spring water, Celtic sea salt, crushed rainbow peppercorns and a dash of cayenne. Blended until juicy.
3. Poured the juice over the shredded cabbage and mixed by hand until all was juicy.
4. Placed the cabbage and juice in a quart mason jar. Since it had to be air tight, I added the outer leaves I had held out in the beginning and pressed them into the jar. I added some more spring water to fill gaps and reach the top of the jar and then I closed it up.
5. I kept the jar in a cool climate (I think around 72 degrees is ideal) for the three days it fermented. I was pleased when it stayed green, which is the indication that it is working. After three days, I put it  in the fridge.

I have to admit I didn’t try it right away. I was afraid. On the fifth day, my friend Dave volunteered to take the first taste. When he didn’t die and said it was pretty good, I tried it, too. And, you know what? It was good – a little sour, but not vinegary at all. I’ve been eating it every day and plan on making more – maybe even adding a few more veggies to the mix.