After years of paying $20-$40 for Mason jars of cultured veggies I finally worked up the nerve to make my own. Approx. 20 hours of internet research, blog stalking, an inspiring old friend who is doing it as a business (www.straightfromthevine.com) and a trip to Whole Foods later I was ready. Really ready. And hungry. Hungry not just for food but nourishment that makes me FEEL GOOD. If the food I'm eating happens to also clean my guts at the same time all the merrier.
When I expressed my enthusiasm over my incubating jars people would all ask the same thing: What are cultured veggies? Body Ecology, the school for healthy eating, (http://bodyecology.com/articles/cveggies.php) defines: Cultured vegetables are made by shredding cabbage or a combination of cabbage and other vegetables and then packing them tightly into an airtight container. They are left to ferment at room temperature for several days or longer. Friendly bacteria naturally present in the vegetables quickly lower the pH, making a more acidic environment so the bacteria can reproduce. The vegetables become soft, delicious, and somewhat "pickled." During this fermentation period, the friendly bacteria are having a heyday, reproducing and converting sugars and starches to lactic acid. Once the initial process is over, it is time to slow down the bacterial activity by putting the cultured veggies in the refrigerator. The cold greatly slows the fermentation, but does not stop it completely. Even if the veggies sit in your refrigerator for months, they will not spoil; instead they become more like fine wine, more delicious with time. Properly made, cultured vegetables have at least an eight month shelf life.
Interesting stuff, eh?
I started with a red cabbage base because I like colorful food. You could use green cabbage as well, I think it breaks down faster. Then I decided I would do 3 different recipes: sweet, salt and spicy variations.
The sweet was my favorite. It is the lightest colored of the three. It's also the one that collected a syrup-like consistency as the bottom of the jar. It's like a treat to eat. If your idea of treats include fermented veggies.
Sweet cultured veggie ingredients: 2 cups shredded red cabbage, 3 small chopped gala apples, 3 shredded carrots, 1 shredded beet, lemon juice (I cheated and used bottled lemon juice. This would not fly obviously if I were trying to sell this stuff), a pinch of Hawaiian sea salt. I ended up adding 2 more pinches of salt after they cultured.
The salty was my second favorite. It was also the one I made the least of, but probably would be the one I would take to a raw food meet-up because of its common flavor combination.
Salty cultured veggie ingredients: 1 cup shredded AND chopped red cabbage, 2 shredded carrots, 2 inch knob of peeled julienne ginger, 2 tablespoons of dried fennel, 1 pinch of Hawaiian sea salt.
The "Muy Caliente" or spicy variation was my big experiment and sadly, my least favorite. I found a new spice at the grocery store, Jamaican All Spice. It's got cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sounds diverse, right? No, it over powered the simple mix. The spice itself is the size of a small pebble, only broke down a little bit so when you chew on this cultured veggie mix you have to fish out the spice with your fingers when your teeth find it. This one will not be making it out of the house I'm afraid. No, no sharing of you my pretty little deformed jar of health.
"Muy Caliente" cultured veggie ingredients: 2 cups shredded red cabbage, 2 cups chopped beets, 2 pinches cayenne pepper, 10-15 pieces of Jamaican All Spice, 1 pinch Hawaiian Sea Salt.
If anyone has interest in trying cultured veggies please contact me! I will give you some of mine to try and we could make some together. It's something that I see as a community sharing platform. If we all eat from the same garden then we can control immunities, diseases, illness in a much more educated way than the fragmented approach to healthcare we have now. So, let's get well together and grow together!
Happy noshing!
