Kimchi, Kefir, Sauerkraut and all other fermented foods

Has anyone come across an OTP or simple DIY chamber that could control temp, humidity and dehydrate? I'd really love one box I could use to make koji and other ferments in a controlled way, but also use to dehydrate fruit & herbs from time to time.

Anyone trying to increase eating fermented food to improve your gut biome?

Yes, with great success. Regular eating of raw sauerkraut, fermented radishes, beetroot and kombucha helped greatly with some digestive issues I was having a few years back.

May not be relevant to this thread, where there any other ways you altered your diet?

From what I have been reading and listening to, home made non pasteurised stuff is the one to go to for the good bacteria as alot of the shop stuff is sugar filled (bad) and pasterized so killing off the germs.

Is this best to discuss here or start another thread?

Nope, I’ve never really limited myself as to what I eat, and always was happy to try something new, so I’ve never really had much of a diet as such. Prior to my sons arrival I had been home brewing ale for a good decade and got really into the idea of fermentation. So I read Sandor Katz’s art of fermentation (which is easily one of my favourite books) and around the same time I was suffering with irregular and unpleasant ‘digestion’. So I threw together a few jars of veggies to ferment, found a local scoby and went to town. I think it was a matter of weeks after regular consumption that everything became more regular and comfortable.

Yes, it worked well for me. Good quality diary helped me as well. Also, cutting out processed food helps in that the less sugar you have, the less there is for the bad bacteria to feed on.

This threads just reminded me to go to Heron Foods, as they have a shed load of Kefir drinks reduced to 40p as most people in Bolton would say "Ye wot?"

Was asking as I like the idea of trying to improve my diet, the usual more varied fruit and veg. Have tried, and like, homemade sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and kefir. So thought I'd try as I'm going to be on anti biotics for a few months as well as new anti diabetic meds messes with gut biome.

@jdp Yeah sugar and processed food is quite bad for biome.

Sorry for invading the thread, and thanks for the book tips.

Vegetarian kimchi recipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLdvLt8XQ3Y

Well, it’s kimchi time for me again. Tweaks (hopefully improvements) I’ve made this year are:
-homegrown Chinese cabbage

• rice porridge
  
• Dried shrimp in there too
  
  

Phase 1 is complete - washing, chopping and salting everything- tonight the gloop gets put together

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I know the cabbage looks like a dogs breakfast after the slugs, but I just had to ditch lots of the outer leaves, luckily I sowed loads.

Fun bit putting the gloop together.
I used this recipe pretty much:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/mother-in-laws-signature-kimchi-from-the-kimchi-cookbook-recipe.html

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So later today I will make sauerkraut, my first attempt, using the BBC good food recipe. Have the big IKEA clip jars out of the dishwasher this evening. Hope that my French sea salt is iodine and anti caking agent free, or what salt would you recommend?

Don't have any fermenting weights, so was thinking of using one of the outer cabbage leaves and doritto dip jar full of something heavy. Maybe nuts and bolts. Any trips of what to use as weights.

Reading a few recipes that mentioned adding caraway seeds another mentioned adding 3 carrots and a couple cloves of garlic which is supposed to give a sweeter sauerkraut. Some mentioned using half white and half red cabbage. Any tips.

Not sure about iodine, but supermarket coarse rock salt has no anti caking agent. I’ve always been led to believe sea salt is quite rich in other minerals, which is what gives it its more unique taste. If anything it might be higher in iodine, so it’s worth checking.

Brick wrapped in clingfilm, then in foil makes a good weight!

Have been reading many articles about making saukraut and some mention using salt with out added iodine and anti caking agent. Just have three kilo bag of French sea salt, bought in French hypermarket, that is not like the bright white of Maldon sea salt. The ingredients list just says sea salt. Would it be alright, or is it a suck it and see.

If it's sea salt and a bit grey it's likely unprocessed (particularly if it's a bit wet)

I use sea salt with no problems. For a weight I’ve used jars filled with water.

Thank you for the help.

Now have a white lidl cabbage and a red lidl cabbage...a few french carrots and some french garlic. My food processor has a cracked bowl so am going to do the grating by hand... If this goes badly I'm feeding to @Olly398 hidden in his packed lunches.

Am I being stupid by doing different types or should I stick to one till I get it right? Am currently going through the I'm going to fuck it up so why bother stage...

:D

Go for it, it’ll be yummy. Shred it as fine as you can.

Will a square stainless steel hand grater be alright?

Prolly fine. Mine’s too blunt and tends to not to cut cleanly. Got an oriental type mandolins from Dentons IIRC, cheap enough, and never looked back, effortless. Cut myself only once on it too...

Thank you for reminding me I have a mandolin(is it with an e at the end as autocorrect can't decide)....some where.

I use those dried prawns in my noodles along with some chili red bean, they are awesome.

Finally got the incentive to make sauerkraut, have dug out the mandolin but couldn't find the unopened salt. So luckily had enough left.

Slicing the the cabbage, around a kilo and a half of red and white, makes very little sauerkraut overall. Like 850g of cabbage. Used some on the inner leaves as leveller and cling film wrapped jar as the weight.

OOPS DUNNO WHY I tagged chak. Soz Chak.

I’ve tried various veg lacto-fermented, including one mixed one with fennel included. It was bloody gorgeous. However I heard somewhere that fennel is problematic for fermentation as something in it doesn’t allow lactobacillus to flourish.

Anyone else tried?

In other news, along with lots of saurkraut and variations, recently I made a fucking bonkers version of picalilli using fermentation. Put in lots of dry spices (mustard, coriander, cumin, turmeric), ginger l, garlic and some chili, with cauli, onion, corgette, cavolo nero and bit of red pepper. Three weeks under water. Drained it, then into sterilised jars. It is magificent.

Opened a jar of Spring 2017 fermented wild garlic tonight.

Still tasting great, gonna have amazing garlic breath in the morning.