Here is a fermentation with leafy greens, following the principle “use what you have/harvest”.
This time it’s kale, parsley, celery, kohlrabi, garlic, coriander, yellow onion, dill, chili, ginger, black pepper, and salt (1.5%).
All vegetables and spices are chopped to desired size and mixed with salt in a bowl. Then everything is placed in a jar and pressed together, and the jar is filled with water.
Make sure none of the contents stick out above the water level, as mold can form. A lid or appropriately sized plate can be used to keep the contents submerged in the jar.
Let it sit out for a few days until fermentation starts, then store the jar in a cool place. After 2 weeks, the fermentation is complete. Fermentations with leafy greens tend to not have a long shelf life, they can become slimy, so consume them within 2 months.
Daikon – Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus – is a vegetable with a bright future. It is easy to grow, versitile and can take on an amazing spectrum of flavours and texures. It is already cultivated in large quantities in many parts of the world. Just like many other Asian cabbage varieties, it doesn’t deal well with the midsummer light in Sweden so I usually sow it outdoors at the end of July/beginning of August. This way, it becomes an important ingredient in autumn kimchi or as a great storing vegetable for the winter.
BUT, it is also possible to cultivate it in the spring! My friends at Skäve Trädgård in Järna have been sowing daikon in cold greenhouses at the end of March (if sown later, it easily goes to seed) and start harvesting large tender roots as early as the beginning of May – they grow astonishingly fast. In addition to fermentation, it is delicious when eaten raw and finely grated on rice (with a little soy sauce), in bibimbap, miso soup, a hummus sandwich, spicy curry – anything and everything. You can use the stems and leaves like spinach in hot dishes or make kimchi although this kimchi is pungent and not for the faint-hearted.
You can find seeds for three kinds of daikon at Runåbergs.
Trajanus Scherlund at Skäve Trädgård holds up the seasons first daikon (May).
Daikon roots grow both above and below the soil surface
Whole fermented daikon
Day 1 – Pre-salting Harvest the daikon when they are 2-4cm in diameter. Remove the leaves (use them as spinach or try making daikon stem kimchi – see below – cut a few millimeters from the top of the root so the leaves stay intact). Rinse the roots thoroughly and layer with salt, approximately 6% of the weight (60g per kg of vegetables). Place a plate on top and something heavy like a rock or a bowl of water and let them sit overnight.
Day 2 Pour off the liquid that has been drawn out of the roots overnight and rinse. Then, tightly pack the roots into a fermentation container or glass jar and pour a 2-3% salt solution over them (20-30g per liter of water). If using a large container, place a weight or plate on top. If fermenting directly in smaller jars, simply put on the lid. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, then transfer to the refrigerator or a cool cellar for an additional two weeks. Slice before serving.
Pre-salting roots
Fermented daikon after 3 weeks
Fermented daikon with dried turmeric powder.
I love lacto-fermented daikon without any seasoning, but it’s also delicious with turmeric or by making a simple kimchi by adding a few garlic cloves, ginger pieces, one or more scallions, and some whole chili peppers – preferably fresh, but dried ones work too.
Wilted daikon – fermented
If you want to achieve something really special, try fermenting wilted daikon. This way, you’ll get a deep umami flavor, and it pairs well with a cheese platter or serves as a vegan alternative to salami.
Note: Wilted daikon can smell very pungent. I once cleared out a classroom of 30 people during a workshop just by opening the jar. The smell decreases with time.
Even though it may seem like a good way to use forgotten roots from the fridge, the result is much better to use freshly harvested vegetables. Harvest the daikon when they have a diameter of 4-6 cm. Remove the leaves and rinse the roots thoroughly. Let them wilt outdoors for a couple of dry, warm days, taking them indoors at nightor if its raining. Rinse again and layer with salt – approximately 6% of the weight of the vegetables. Place a plate and something heavy on top and let it sit overnight. Pour off the liquid and rinse lightly the next day, then pack tightly into a jar or container. I would recommend placing something heavy, like a boiled stone, on top. Let it sit at room temperature (preferably around 15-18°C) for at least 6 months, up to several years!
Salt the wilted daikon and leave over night
Press into a jar – photo from 2019
Matured fermented daikon – aged for 3 years
Daikon stem kimchi – pungent!
Rinse the leaves and remove any yellow/brown ones along with any less than lovely looking stems.
Cut off the leafy part at the top (use it in cooking – delicious!). Let the stems wilt slightly by hanging them outside on a moderately warm day or in the kitchen if the weather doesn’t cooperate. After a couple of days (if its very warm out 24 hours should do), rinse the stems and layer them with salt – approximately 6% of their weight. Place a plate and something heavy like a bowl filled with water or a stone on top. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight. Drain and rinse. Make a kimchi paste or try a simpler version by rolling the stems in chili flakes, finely grated ginger, and garlic. Pack them tightly into a jar or fermentation container and place a weight on top (if using a stone from nature, it’s a good idea to boil it for a few minutes first to clean it). Then, let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 weeks, up to several months. This kimchi has a strong flavor, and I have mainly used it in cooking with great results in curry, falafel, pumpkin soup, sauces, salads, and more.
Leaves and stems wilting on a drying rack
Cut away a fair amount of leaf
Mix with chili after pre-salting
Put some weight on
Falafel flavoured with a generous quantity och stem kimchi and served with fermented daikon and lightly fermented cucumber
We have always grown a mix of pumpkins and winter squashes and have mixed them wildly in this recipe. It turns out delicious every time. The latest mix consisted of Black Forest, Hokkaido, Butternut, and some self-seeded hybrids from the compost area.
Since pumpkin is quite sweet, it’s good to balance it with something slightly peppery like cabbage, daikon, or kohlrabi. This results in a really fresh and slightly sparkling ferment.
Sauerkraut is one of the most well-known and consumed forms of lacto-fermented vegetables in Europe and the USA, and it has been produced in various ways worldwide for thousands of years. The basic recipe involves shredded cabbage and salt. Caraway seeds and juniper berries are popular seasonings, but you can also try using rowan berries, black pepper, and even sea buckthorn. Finely chop the cabbage by hand (big sharp knife is recommended), use a cabbage slicer or a food processor/vegetable cutter.
For a more detailed description of the lacto-fermentation process and how sauerkraut is made, check here.
These fermented tomatoes by Karin Liljegren from Eskilstuna Matkultur versatile and can be used as a side dish, in salads, blended into a gazpacho, or even scooped onto butter-fried sourdough bread. You can also use the tomato juice in a drink for a perfect summer aperitif.
Green tomatoes are good to ferment as they maintain a good texture and are often abundant towards the end of the season.
Ingredients:
10kg green tomatoes 1 – 2 heads of garlic 2 onions whole fresh chili peppers (to taste). I used a yellow chili – hot lemon because I had a lot of it and it looks nice. a little bunch of sage a little bunch of rosemary (skip if it’s not a favourite) Saltlösning with 5% salt (50 g of salt per liter of water)
Here’s how to make it:
Chop the tomatoes into large pieces or slices, slice the onions, peel the garlic but leave the cloves whole. Keep the chili peppers and herbs whole as well. Mix all the ingredients in a container. Place a weight or plate on top and completely cover with the salt brine. Put on the lid and, if available, use an airlock. Let it sit at room temperature for 7-10 days, then move it to a cool place. Allow it to sit cool for 4 weeks before transferring to smaller jars and consuming. It will keep for a long time.
This tomato salsa is fresh, sweet-sour, and tastes best within 2 months. After that, it can become slightly too acidic and a bit slimy (but still edible). This is a great way to use unripe and semi-ripe tomatoes towards the end of the season. Do not use overly ripe tomatoes for this recipe, as they are sweeter and can result in a fermentation dominated by yeast, leading to excessive bubbliness. I use a starter culture here.
Cucumber kimchi is delicious right from the start, even before adding the spice blend – overnight salted cucumber is so tasty! Then, you mix in the spices to create a fresh and spicy kimchi salad. If you plan to eat this kimchi fairly quickly, it may be a good idea to replace the yellow onions with daikon, as the onion flavor can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning. This is very similar to making zucchini kimchi, and it’s absolutely fine to combine squash and cucumber. If you’re making it in jars at home, you can divide everything by 10.
Although most cucumbers can be delicious lacto-fermented it’s best to use cucumbers with thin skins, otherwise, peeling them may be necessary. Overripe cucumbers should also be emptied of their seeds. Cut off the part where the flower was attached, as enzymes from that area can cause it to become soft.
In these recipes, I’ve used different brine concentrations, but generally, with cucumbers, it’s fine to use a brine that is between 3.5% – 6% salt, resulting in approximately 1.5% – 3% salt in the final product after the cucumbers have absorbed salt through osmosis. Using less salt than that increases the chance of the cucumbers becoming soft. More salt results in a sour and crispy pickle, while less salt yields a milder and softer pickle.
Dilly beans are one of the most popular fermentations among our CSA members and enjoyed by both young and old. It’s one of the easiest fermentations to make but takes time in other ways like the harvest and maturing time – I usually let this fermentation sit in the root cellar for at least three months before jarring – and then there’s the jarring process itself. Fitting long beans into short jars is a time-consuming task. This means that the majority of the work is done in winter when growers typically have more time.
