Kimchi

[applestar]

I'm making kimchi... I had intensely spicy leftover radish kimchi that could be used as a starter and extra regular green cabbage that needed to be processed, so I used this recipe https://kimchimari.com/green-cabbage-kimchi/ as reference.

I tweaked it by adding sliced green harvested apples. I thought I might have made a mistake somewhere when the mixed ingredients seemed so dry last night, and there was no brine at all... And I had discarded the cabbage brining solution instead of saving it to use as described in some other recipes. Even though it wasn't mentioned in the recipe, I weighed the whole thing down with a glass Weck jar lid and pickle weights.

This morning, there was enough brine to submerge the ingredients when pushed down and bubbles were released with chopsticks. ...and after two hours, it's already bubbling this much already and smelling fantastic!

[applestar]

...I forgot to mention I also added a couple of sliced Myoga flower buds and of course fresh ginger root from my big container gingers that I repotted and harvested the other day... As well as more garlic chives and Egyptian walking onion greens than was called for in the recipe since they are both growing so well in the fall weather. ...oh! And just a little bit of juice of Poncirus Flying Dragon (tiny bit this time but I think I will add more in the next batch).

I don't think this jar is going to last at all -- I just tasted it to see if it was ready to go in the refrigerator, and ended up raiding it for more.

[imafan26]

Pickle weights. I never knew about that we just put the brined cabbage in a pot and put a dinner plate on it that just fit inside the pot and put a brick or two on the plate. The worse thing about making kim chi is the smell of the fermenting cabbage.

Koreans here keep a small refrigerator at home just to store kimchi because of the smell.

[digitS']

I have a jar of refrigerator pickles in the, umm, refrigerator.

No kulture here ... well, maybe a little. About 15 years ago, Dad and I were making pretty good beer. I've thrown away just about everything else ... including a beef brisket, I was supposedly making into pastrami ...

Wine, sauerkraut, pickles - a couple of times. I have failed on. There was a "freezer pickled cabbage," I made last winter. Not bad! Of course, it wasn't really sauerkraut and didn't ferment. Store-bought kimchi has been very good.

I've tasted my pickles and think that they might be okay. There are cucumbers saved for more, if'n the recipe is worth a repeat.

I, personally, would like to blame or credit my success or failure on the recipes but suspect that you don't need such defence of ego. No, AppleStar, you seem likely to have the creativity and attention to details necessary for most anything. I will Wish You Luck but doubt that you need any .

Steve

[applestar]

Ha! Thanks digitS for that vote of confidence, but I've thrown out my share, including a 1/2 gal jar of what should have been sauerkraut that smelled like old gym socks.

Happily, despite the salt content, home made pickles can go in the compost pile. (Store bought contain preservatives and artificial colors in the brine that I won't introduce into the compost pile -- I use those to "clean" the disposer).