Sour kraut and KimChee

[maki]

I haven't.
It seems to ferment easily enough without, so I don't bother.
Congratulations on your first batch!

[brewerpaul]

Update-- I made a second batch of Kimchi which was fabulous. This time I added the fish sauce right from the start and also added a small amount of dried Chipotle pepper which gave a terrific smoky flavor.
I also did a batch of Sauerkraut which is simply fantastic. This contains nothing but cabbage and salt--who knew? The flavor is much more complex and richer than the store bought variety. We'll be grilling up some Hebrew Nationals tonight and topping them with this wonderful stuff.
Right now I have a batch of Japanese Pickled Onions in the fermenter, following the recipe in the Perfect Pickler brochure. Can't get enough of this stuff!

[maki]

Its incredible how much flavor and nutrition is killed by pasterization.
I wonder if people who have digestive issues with kraut have ever tried
the fresh unpasterized kind?

[I.D.10-t]

I must say that what I have had, the canned sauerkraut is very different than the fresh.

I notice that the Japanese do something similar to make tsukemono, but it seems like it is a much shorter brining process and do not know if fermentation is involved.

I suppose next you all will be trying to make kombucha.

Edit: Looks like Nukazuke would be another kind of fermented pickle, that may be a bit closer to kim chee than tsukemono, but I have only made the latter.

[Doug_Tipple]

OK, guys, you've made me curious, so I ordered this on ebay.

[brewerpaul]

You won't be sorry Doug.

[Pfreddee]

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With best regards.

Pfreddee(Stephen)

[Nanohedron]

I notice that the Japanese do something similar to make tsukemono, but it seems like it is a much shorter brining process and do not know if fermentation is involved.

IIRC, in terms of general processing you can think of tsukemono as having three basic categories, and that according to shelf life: one-day pickles (we would more consider these marinated), weekish-long pickles (same difference maybe I suppose), and long-term storage pickles. Dunno too much about any details other than that. I believe oshinko is the alternate general term for tsukemono, BTW, but I'll have to check up on that.

Nukazuke by definition involves salted moist rice bran as the essential pickling agent. In terms of end product, it's not close at all in any way to real Korean kimchi, never mind the Japanese iteration of it. In restaurants, the seemingly almost obligatory takuan is the most familiar example of nukazuke for most Westerners. Also, most nukazuke fall within the weekish-long shelf life category, as I understand, although I don't know if this means from the start or once it's taken from the pickling bed; traditionally prepared takuan takes several months to finish, for example.

I suppose next you all will be trying to make kombucha.

Not me.

[Doug_Tipple]

I received the ebay jar lid and plastic air-lock, and I am a little upset that the plastic lid doesn't have any kind of a seal ring, so, naturally, it doesn't pass the suck test. I just got the idea of making a seal ring from a used pair of rubber gloves. I wonder if there are any sourkraut and Kim Chee veterans here that can recommend online instructions.

[dwest]

I received the ebay jar lid and plastic air-lock, and I am a little upset that the plastic lid doesn't have any kind of a seal ring, so, naturally, it doesn't pass the suck test. I just got the idea of making a seal ring from a used pair of rubber gloves. I wonder if there are any sourkraut and Kim Chee veterans here that can recommend online instructions.

You should be able to get some good seals from the canning section in the grocery store or a good hardware store. We have an ACE hardware that has a very comprehensive canning section.

[maki]

I received the ebay jar lid and plastic air-lock, and I am a little upset that the plastic lid doesn't have any kind of a seal ring, so, naturally, it doesn't pass the suck test. I just got the idea of making a seal ring from a used pair of rubber gloves. I wonder if there are any sourkraut and Kim Chee veterans here that can recommend online instructions.

We use Tattler gaskets;
http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable- ... roduct_top

I've got a couple to spare I could mail a couple off if you like?

As for instructions, this is what we used;
http://www.perfectpickler.com/pages/Vid ... ckles.html

http://www.perfectpickler.com/pages/Vid ... ckler.html

http://www.perfectpickler.com/pages/Kimchi.html

[Doug_Tipple]

Thanks for the instruction links and other good suggestions. My mother used to can with glass dome lids and the rubber seals, but it is harder to get a good seal when you press down from the top of the jar with the steel spring clamp. She had several canning failures (spoiled contents) from leaking dome lids. The newer designed canning lids with the threaded rings are much superior for getting a good seal. I think that I will drill a hole in a metal lid and transfer the grommet for the air lock to the metal lid. I also appreciate Maki's offer to send me a rubber ring or two so that I can also use the plastic lid.

[brewerpaul]

I've used mine for about 5 batches now without any sealing ring with no problems at all,FWIW. This isn't a really high tech thing.
Just finished a very pretty batch of red cabbage sauerkraut.

The only batch which was a semi failure was Japanese Pickled Onions from a Perfect Pickler recipe. For the brine it uses soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Both of the ones I had included preservatives of one sort or another and I didn't get a whole lot of fermentation going on. Mind you, the resulting marinated onions are very tasty as a garnish, hence my "semi failure" description.

Edit- my bad. Mine DOES have a rubber ring.
Yes, the bubbler is designed to let CO2 out and block inflow of air. However, I'm thinking that since CO2 is heavier than air, a layer of it forms atop the fermenting mix and pretty much precludes air entering, even without a great seal.

I dropped hints about this book for my upcoming birthday. It looks terrific:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Fermentat ... rmentation
I heard the author on NPR's Fresh air last week and he was fascinating.

[Nanohedron]

The only batch which was a semi failure was Japanese Pickled Onions from a Perfect Pickler recipe. For the brine it uses soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Both of the ones I had included preservatives of one sort or another and I didn't get a whole lot of fermentation going on. Mind you, the resulting marinated onions are very tasty as a garnish, hence my "semi failure" description.

Did the recipe say that it was supposed to ferment? That's not necessarily a feature of Japanese pickling (see my scantily informed post above), and despite preservatives, the brine you mention suggests to me that fermentation would not have been a goal anyway.

[Doug_Tipple]

I've used mine for about 5 batches now without any sealing ring with no problems at all,FWIW.

The purpose of the plastic air lock is to let fermenting gas escape from the jar. Ideally, you want the lid to be sealed to the jar so that air won't come into the jar, just like any canning operation. I suppose that you can successfully use a jar with a leaky lid, in which case you wouldn't really need an air lock at all because the fermenting gases would escape around the lid. If I remember correctly, Korean Kim Chee is made in large crocks without an air lock.