Hi. I've ordered your book , but before it arrives I'd be interested to know if you know about and if you've compared the 2% salt with what we do here in eastern europe which is add 1 TBSP of salt which is 25
g to 1 litre of water. That's how we've done it for hundreds of years but we always use water to cover.
To keep the veggies under we cris cross dried sticks of dill and to preserve the crunch we use big amounts of horseradish and sour cherry leaves 🙂
Since following you I've also tried the no water variation and I liked it but I also been throwing away stuff as I didn't mange to use the weight and the parchment paper properly 🙄
Hi Simona, firstly, thank you for ordering my book! Secondly, sour cherry leaves are amazing! What a great suggestion. The main difference with using water or not is, when an ingredient is juicy enough, the liquid produced becomes a more tasty product itself, much like traditional Korean persimmon vinegar. But I do a lot of ferments with additional water too, and you're right, it's an amazing way to ferment!
Your salt is about 2.5% the weight, which is probably roughly about the same, as water is often the majority of weight in a fermentation jar. Most vegetable ingredients are far lighter. But without weighing them I'm not sure if they will always be equal to that 0.5% extra. If working with heavier, juicy ingredients like tomatoes or plums, then it'd weigh them the next time you're making it and see if you think it's enough.
You inspired me this morning to start a jar of fermented salsa - I had all the ingredients just needing to be used up. I’ve always been a bit leery about the idea - something to do with salsa and tomatoes in the past that started to ferment on their own in an less-than-delicious way. But you’ve given me the confidence to try it, so thank you. I added whole coriander seed and minced preserved lemon, which as well as adding a lemony note I think should kick-start the fermentation. Do you agree?
I'm glad to help give you the confidence to give it a go! The key difference between spoiled food and fermented food sometimes comes to the production of harmful chemicals. Fermentation produces beneficial, spoilage produces damaging. So, from an outside perspective, it can be unnerving. I'd say your idea of coriander seed and preserved lemon sounds great! But the preserved lemon won't kick-start the process as it is usually heavily salted and aged for a long time, so any microbial activity will have likely ended a while ago. The fresh tomatoes and other fresh ingredients will be what bring LAB and other microbes along for the ferment.
Just you wait for it... There's lacto, whey fermented, koji, all sorts. Even getting into moisture levels based on how you prepare the grain and the effects on enzyme production depending on which part of the grain you're targeting. It's good nerdy stuff, and remarkably simple how to do it at home.
You’re always so generous with your posts! I’m trying my hand at fermenting whole rosehips today but I have a feeling it isn’t going to work… Will read this through carefully after dinner and see if I can find a better way than just whacking the whole hips in some salt.
Rosehips were tricky for me too! They worked in a vacuum but I'm not sure how well they'll work in a jar as they didn't produce much liquid. The cheong recipe I shared worked very well though if you're interested in rosehips. If you wanted something with less sugar, infusing them in vinegar or gin is also delicious! And you're very welcome.
Sam, I notice in your excellent article, in the “type salt you use and recommend” that pink Himalayan salt was not mentioned. Back in the Prep years I purchased quite a few jugs of himalayan salt. Can you briefly comment on that with a yey or ney?
Will preorder your book. Ive fermented ACV from fall apple juice for years. Recently I fermented zucchini spears in 3 different flavors. Used ACV tho, and they turned out yummy. I am a lifetime maker of homemade yogurt and labne. I currently also make Lactobacillus Reuteri infused yogurt (Dr Wm Davis -youtube). He’s onto a similar journey related to the gut to skin axis.
But in all my enjoyment of exploring fermented foods, never knew about using salt for fermentation. ( and I agree - table salt is total garbage).
Thank you so much for a fun read to expand my personal fascination with fermented foods.
I’m so glad you found it useful. You can absolutely use pink Himalayan salt, as it comes under the rock salt grouping. I’ll have to look up that YouTube person! I haven’t seen them before!
Oh wonderful to know that Himalayan is an adequate salt. We typically use sea salt in the kitchen, but also have Himalayan salt.
Here is a recent seven minute YouTube video by Dr. William Davis . And this one I’m sharing is about fermented foods and its benefits to the gut to skin axis. https://youtu.be/sExqUo3aybA?si=KZqND865PmG48Tl8
But further down on his channel, you’ll find a couple months ago. He recorded a few focused intro videos about the gut to skin axis. I think it’s actually titled that.
I guess he’s famous for having written the book called “wheat belly” and then more recently a book titled “super gut”. His career as a medical professional was as a cardiologist.
But it’s really awesome that you make a vested effort to reply to comments. Very cool and I did order your book which is to ship November 12 here in the states from Amazon.
Thank you once again and can’t wait to read your book !
Insightful article Sam, thank you. I am about to embark upon the world of fermentation and chutney making from my own crops of tomatoes 🍅 Very late this year in arriving due to poor weather conditions but arrive they have. The green ones I’m thinking of making into chutney.
I feel though that you should be a little more clear about making up a brine. How it's not necessary for some vegetables. That you can certainly extract enough juice from the vegetables with just the process of massaging salt into them. I know this is just an introduction to it, but I feel it should be a bit more clear to any beginners?
I've had a few friends who have followed instructions off the internet for making regular old sauerkraut and using a brine which is totally unnecessary and has led possibly to failures for some of them.
Thank you for this Chef, a very helpful article for me as I have really started getting stuck into lacto fermenting this year, and I have immediately ordered your book in way of thanks (well that's my excuse anyway, I can't wait to get my hands on it)
Hi. I've ordered your book , but before it arrives I'd be interested to know if you know about and if you've compared the 2% salt with what we do here in eastern europe which is add 1 TBSP of salt which is 25
g to 1 litre of water. That's how we've done it for hundreds of years but we always use water to cover.
To keep the veggies under we cris cross dried sticks of dill and to preserve the crunch we use big amounts of horseradish and sour cherry leaves 🙂
Since following you I've also tried the no water variation and I liked it but I also been throwing away stuff as I didn't mange to use the weight and the parchment paper properly 🙄
Thank you
Hi Simona, firstly, thank you for ordering my book! Secondly, sour cherry leaves are amazing! What a great suggestion. The main difference with using water or not is, when an ingredient is juicy enough, the liquid produced becomes a more tasty product itself, much like traditional Korean persimmon vinegar. But I do a lot of ferments with additional water too, and you're right, it's an amazing way to ferment!
Your salt is about 2.5% the weight, which is probably roughly about the same, as water is often the majority of weight in a fermentation jar. Most vegetable ingredients are far lighter. But without weighing them I'm not sure if they will always be equal to that 0.5% extra. If working with heavier, juicy ingredients like tomatoes or plums, then it'd weigh them the next time you're making it and see if you think it's enough.
I hope that helps!
Thank you very much. I will
You inspired me this morning to start a jar of fermented salsa - I had all the ingredients just needing to be used up. I’ve always been a bit leery about the idea - something to do with salsa and tomatoes in the past that started to ferment on their own in an less-than-delicious way. But you’ve given me the confidence to try it, so thank you. I added whole coriander seed and minced preserved lemon, which as well as adding a lemony note I think should kick-start the fermentation. Do you agree?
I'm glad to help give you the confidence to give it a go! The key difference between spoiled food and fermented food sometimes comes to the production of harmful chemicals. Fermentation produces beneficial, spoilage produces damaging. So, from an outside perspective, it can be unnerving. I'd say your idea of coriander seed and preserved lemon sounds great! But the preserved lemon won't kick-start the process as it is usually heavily salted and aged for a long time, so any microbial activity will have likely ended a while ago. The fresh tomatoes and other fresh ingredients will be what bring LAB and other microbes along for the ferment.
Very excited to get my copy. Eager to learn more about fermenting grains
Just you wait for it... There's lacto, whey fermented, koji, all sorts. Even getting into moisture levels based on how you prepare the grain and the effects on enzyme production depending on which part of the grain you're targeting. It's good nerdy stuff, and remarkably simple how to do it at home.
You’re always so generous with your posts! I’m trying my hand at fermenting whole rosehips today but I have a feeling it isn’t going to work… Will read this through carefully after dinner and see if I can find a better way than just whacking the whole hips in some salt.
Rosehips were tricky for me too! They worked in a vacuum but I'm not sure how well they'll work in a jar as they didn't produce much liquid. The cheong recipe I shared worked very well though if you're interested in rosehips. If you wanted something with less sugar, infusing them in vinegar or gin is also delicious! And you're very welcome.
Sam, I notice in your excellent article, in the “type salt you use and recommend” that pink Himalayan salt was not mentioned. Back in the Prep years I purchased quite a few jugs of himalayan salt. Can you briefly comment on that with a yey or ney?
Will preorder your book. Ive fermented ACV from fall apple juice for years. Recently I fermented zucchini spears in 3 different flavors. Used ACV tho, and they turned out yummy. I am a lifetime maker of homemade yogurt and labne. I currently also make Lactobacillus Reuteri infused yogurt (Dr Wm Davis -youtube). He’s onto a similar journey related to the gut to skin axis.
But in all my enjoyment of exploring fermented foods, never knew about using salt for fermentation. ( and I agree - table salt is total garbage).
Thank you so much for a fun read to expand my personal fascination with fermented foods.
I’m so glad you found it useful. You can absolutely use pink Himalayan salt, as it comes under the rock salt grouping. I’ll have to look up that YouTube person! I haven’t seen them before!
Oh wonderful to know that Himalayan is an adequate salt. We typically use sea salt in the kitchen, but also have Himalayan salt.
Here is a recent seven minute YouTube video by Dr. William Davis . And this one I’m sharing is about fermented foods and its benefits to the gut to skin axis. https://youtu.be/sExqUo3aybA?si=KZqND865PmG48Tl8
But further down on his channel, you’ll find a couple months ago. He recorded a few focused intro videos about the gut to skin axis. I think it’s actually titled that.
I guess he’s famous for having written the book called “wheat belly” and then more recently a book titled “super gut”. His career as a medical professional was as a cardiologist.
But it’s really awesome that you make a vested effort to reply to comments. Very cool and I did order your book which is to ship November 12 here in the states from Amazon.
Thank you once again and can’t wait to read your book !
Very informative and detailed well done
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing! Can't wait for the book! 🙏
Thank you! November 7th couldn't come soon enough!
Insightful article Sam, thank you. I am about to embark upon the world of fermentation and chutney making from my own crops of tomatoes 🍅 Very late this year in arriving due to poor weather conditions but arrive they have. The green ones I’m thinking of making into chutney.
Love the teaching you have provided 👍🏼🙏🏼
Hi Sam
Enjoying your posts and your fermenting ideas!
I feel though that you should be a little more clear about making up a brine. How it's not necessary for some vegetables. That you can certainly extract enough juice from the vegetables with just the process of massaging salt into them. I know this is just an introduction to it, but I feel it should be a bit more clear to any beginners?
I've had a few friends who have followed instructions off the internet for making regular old sauerkraut and using a brine which is totally unnecessary and has led possibly to failures for some of them.
Hi Sam, can you please come on my podcast x
Thank you for this Chef, a very helpful article for me as I have really started getting stuck into lacto fermenting this year, and I have immediately ordered your book in way of thanks (well that's my excuse anyway, I can't wait to get my hands on it)
Thank you for the audio. :-)
Preordered :-)
Listening to you like a podcast as I piddle around my room, thanks for this! I have given it a bit of a go. so interesting about vinegars. Thanks :)