When summer comes around, we try to find ways to make it last forever. So every day this week, we'll bring you a new guide to preserving the season's best herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Today: Ferment your way to homemade kimchi, hot sauce, and more.
Fermenting produces some of the best flavor thanks to microbiology. It’s the process that turns cabbage into sauerkraut and cucumbers into sour pickles. Vegetables are brined in a solution that attracts the bacteria that produce lactic acid, which is what helps develop that wonderful funk.
Cabbage is popular because of its naturally high water content—so high, in fact, that it creates its own brine. Simply massage a head of cabbage with a measured amount of salt, and it will release enough liquid to submerge itself. Nearly any vegetable is fermentable in a brine solution; we especially like cucumbers, beets, radishes, green beans, and fresh chiles.
Fiery chiles are almost as easy and popular to ferment as cabbage (you get the punch and the heat!). Get the recipe.
When your vegetables start to ferment, you may notice…shall we say…an odor. This is natural! And good. As for that bubbling you see, it’s just the cultures saying, “Hi! We are alive!” Fermentation speed depends on the produce used, your kitchen’s temperature, and preexisting bacteria. Sample after three days. Want deeper flavor? The longer you let your produce sit, the more complex it gets. Like where it is? Put it in the fridge to slow down further fermentation.
From time to time you may notice a film on top of your brine. Don’t panic: As long as it’s not touching your submerged veg, it’s fine. Skim it off. If mold does make it onto your fermenting produce, that’s another story. You should start over. In general, when in doubt, throw it out.
White Kimchi
Fresh-Chile Hot Sauce
