fermentation

And it doesn't only have to be with radishes, you can ferment all hard vegetables. Actually I am not that crazy about raw radishes, I find them too sharp and actually dirty bra. But transformed by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts they taste too good to me. They call that really hhmm UMAMI, the fifth taste sensation!

what do you need?

Really not much. Namely only a clean jar with a rubber ring between the lid and jar. Of course the vegetables that you want to ferment and sea salt. How much salt? 15 grams of sea salt or himalayan salt on 1 kilo of vegetables. Always work hygienically, wash the pot with caustic soda and hot water. Rinse the vegetables with cold water, use vegetables from your own garden or buy organic vegetables. Non-organic vegetables carry much less lactic acid bacteria and then the fermentation process sometimes fails. However, if you use vegetables from your own garden, fermenting will always go well.

How does ferment work?

First you cut the vegetables that you want to ferment into pieces, during this fermentation I cut the radishes into slices. You weigh the total of vegetables and on the basis of the weight you determine the amount of salt (15 grams of salt per 1 kilo of vegetables).

Then take your clean pot and fill a layer of radish on the bottom, then take a little salt between your fingers and sprinkle it over the vegetables. Just like a lasagna dish, you now do radish and salt. Fill the pot up to a maximum of 2 to 3 fingers below the edge, this is necessary because the process makes CO2 and otherwise your pot explodes.

When all vegetables (radish) are in the pot, press the radish just as well. You will see that quite a bit of moisture has already been created and if all is well, your radish will be completely submerged. If this is not the case, top up with brine. Brine water is simply water mixed with sea salt in the ratio 1 liter of water with 50 grams of sea salt. Make sure that everything is under water and that you have at least 2 fingers left in the pot. With the lid not completely closed, put the jar away at room temperature. Close the jar with a cheese cloth or similar. and an elastic band so that no flies can enter.

The pot may close after one week. Note always use a jar with a rubber ring so that CO2 can escape from the jar but no oxygen can enter the jar. Now the pot is allowed in the fridge, the fermentation process is now almost stopped. After 3 weeks the radishes are already tasty, but the longer you wait the tastier they become. Good luck with your fermentation adventure