Not The Normal Fermented Foods?

[Davylp25]

Hi...

So I'm learning about all this fermentation stuff. Started water kefir, love it. But I know the norm, Kimchi,Pickles etc. But I have seen recipes for fermented salsa, ketchup, garlic by themselves. I was wondering has anyone tried these type of foods? If so what? ( I don't mean the norm of Kimchi, Saurkraut, Pickles)

How does the taste differ from regular salsa, then fermented? Ketchup? Any other things? How does the taste differ. I'm really curious what things you may have fermented or tried besides the norm? Any recipes?

[walnutty]

Great questions, Davylp25!

[Raw Angel Mom]

Are they recipe on line? or you have a book for that. I tried some fermented recipe from Elena Love and they were great. Except that i let breath my sour ch-rout because in my area, her technique to leave the lead on, doesn't work.

[Davylp25]

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/09/cultered-or-lacto-fermented-salsa.html

I saw salsa there.

Watched a video, where this fermenting lady had like garlic by itself, talked about cultured ketchup, and mayo, onions in a jar etc. I was just curious how it all would taste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq6DS1JDWJE&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLzq19f-lD1e1ybSImSjmx_g

Also does anyone on earth know where one can buy grape leaves? I read they help to make pickles crunchy when you culture them, so I cant seem to find it anywheres!

[MysticTree]

Also does anyone on earth know where one can buy grape leaves? I read they help to make pickles crunchy when you culture them, so I cant seem to find it anywheres!

Any you buy are often not raw. Find a grape vine locally or travel to where there are grape growers and get some fresh!

[Raw Angel Mom]

((((Thank you))))

I got to try the salsa.

[SunshineMN]

We're going to get a pickler thing next month. I'm soooo looking forward to making my own pickled veggies! Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pearl onions, cucumber, and later this summer sweet corn relish. I've seen pickled green tomatoes but that idea doesn't sound appetizing, nor very nutritious. I'd rather have fully ripened veggies and fruits. I do plan on experimenting with pickling fruits or something like papaya or pineapple relish.

I love ketchup, though right now I can't think of anything raw I would use it for. Maybe after we get a dehydrator I'll experiment with making a cultured ketchup for mushroom burgers or something. Might not hurt to culture the recipe I have for raw mayo too. Actually that sounds really good right now, cultured raw mayo with dill, a little lemon or lime juice, a pinch of sea salt... used as a veggie dip. I have so many ideas for recipes!

[Diana Cda]

I know what you mean, how intriguing this is.

We have a small little raw food restaurant that is far away but that, for now, is more accessible since I'm working a contract which is just about 10 blocks away. Since March had an extra pay day in it, I went a couple of times to eat lunch there in March and the salad they serve has grated carrot in it but it's not just plain, grated carrot, it's somehow fermented. I don't know how I know, it's just a richer flavour and it's lacking a tiny bit of the crunch of regular shredded carrot. Not a lot of salt but there's a saltiness to it, too. The fermented grated carrot just tastes really good and I'd love to figure out how to make it. Which I'm sure one day soon I will. But, anyway, you can't mistake fermented raw foods for regular foods as there's extra flavour and a difference in the texture.

To talk about the processing, I have mason jars and that air bubble lock that I learned about here in these forums around last summer but I haven't actually had success converting a regular saurkraut recipe I have that is salt-less and vinegar-less but I now know I'm just missing a liquid component. I'll be adding seaweed water next time I try making the kraut (I'm thinking a couple of cups of water added to some kombu in a bowl will do the trick). Once I get some success with saurkraut will try fermenting other things like grated root vegetables, such as beets, etc. I'm sure that adding seaweed water up to the top will work for anything that we ferment using the air bubble lock system.

Using one of those neat, though super expensive, pickling crocks should work with any recipe.

The book "Wild Fermentation" has a lot of ideas in it you might like to try out. I didn't have time to really look through it because I had it out of the library during the crazy times of fiscal year end this past March but there seemed to be a lot of different things to try in it.

Good luck!

[fastfreedom]

I've not specifically fermented anything other than kimchi, saurkraut, cucumbers, and spicy peppers. Though I have put some garlic in with the pickles and as I recall it seems that the garlic didn't have such a bit like it would if you just ate a clove that was un-fermented. But it's been quite a while since I ran out of pickles so I don't think I have any more fermented garlic cloves. I'll have to go check the juice which I've saved.

You can also use horseradish leaves and maple leaves to create the crunchiness in pickles. I've only ever used horseradish leaves though and it works if you use enough leaf. I skimped on a couple jars with the horseradish leaves and the pickles were...."soft/mushy", but still delicious. Though they didn't have that pickle crunch that I really enjoy when eating pickles.

[Davylp25]

Thanks fastfreedom. I also heard about Horseradish leaves as well, not maple tho. Gr8. But, scratches head, where do you get horseradish leaves? Did you use the whole leaf? I wonder if the leaf would work to make the kimchi and saurkraut more crunchy as well?

I despise soft pickles. I want the crunch. I'm all about the crunch.

Also, I saw a product that is kelp fermented? How the heck would one ferment kelp? I love sea veggies.

[fastfreedom]

I really can't recall how many horseradish leaves I used to get the crunchy pickles. And it was the young small leaves that were probably only 6 inches long. I'm thinking that I used 4 leaves that were about 6 inches long in the jars that stayed crunchy. Sounds right, but it's been two years and I was just learning about fermenting and didn't record what worked. I gave the jars with the recipes taped to the side to a friend so he could begin fermenting, but I don't know if he kept the recipes. Though this year I intend to use a good portion of a large leaf in all of the pickles I make.

My granparents have a horseradish plant that they planted 50 years ago, so that's where I get the leaves from.