Lacto-Fermented Vegetables

There are two methods for making pickles. Both are healthy options, but one reigns supreme. The first method is the “vinegar method”. This is a faster method of pickling, with the pickles ready to consume within a couple of days (albeit the flavour continues to improve for about a week). It involves making a brine from vinegar and water to pour over vegetables. The acetic acid in vinegar creates an environment in which nasty microorganisms cannot populate. This method can be used if you plan to can the pickles using a water bath or pressure canner. It can also be used for “quick pickles” stored in the fridge for fairly immediate use (e.g., over the next 3 weeks or so). I make “quick pickles” often during the summer when our cucumbers ripen in the garden. The better method of pickling is the “lacto-fermentation method”. This involves using a salt brine to create an environment hostile to nasty microorganisms and allowing the vegetables to ferment in the absence of oxygen at room temperature for a few weeks. The reason why this method is the “better” method is that it generates probiotics. Lacto-fermented vegetables are far more potent than any probiotic supplement on the market. 2-3 ounces of lacto-fermented vegetables has in the ballpark of 5 trillion bacteria. Compare that to typical probiotic supplements which usually contain 5-100 billion bacteria. Lacto-fermented vegetables also have the benefit of being way cheaper than probiotic supplements. Seriously, the cost involved is limited to the vegetables that you want to ferment (which could be as cheap as the humble cabbage) and a bit of salt and water. You will quickly recoup the cost of the equipment that I recommend for home fermenting if you replace your probiotic supplement with lacto-fermented vegetables. Additionally, fermentation increases the bioavailability of the nutrients in vegetables. Beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium “pre-digest” the vegetables, allowing your body to absorb more of the vitamins and minerals from the vegetables. By breaking down substrates like starch, soluble fibre, and secondary plant metabolites, fermenting microbes reduce the enzymatic activity needed to for our bodies to access the nutrients in the vegetable. They also have the benefit of being delicious. They are delightfully tangy.

I was inspired to get into making my own fermented vegetables by Dr. Terry Wahls, author of The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles. I don’t follow the Wahls Protocol, but I have taken some inspiration from her book in planning my diet. As regular readers of the blog will know, I am a participant in her latest study, though I am a member of the control group and therefore haven’t had to make any particularly significant changes to my diet. I don’t think that there is strong evidence for her protocol altering disease progression at this stage, which is a part of why I haven’t adopted her protocol whole hog. I am waiting to see where the research leads, and actively participating in that research in the meantime. I haven’t eliminated anything from my diet as a result of reading The Wahls Protocol, but I have added some things to my diet. Dr. Wahls asserts that “the microbes in the gut influence the level of inflammation in the brain, and the probability of acute relapse in those with brain-involved chronic diseases like MS” (page 215). She points out that taking rounds of antibiotics can kill off the beneficial bacteria living in the gut. Consuming fermented foods can help to return your gut microbiome to a healthier condition. It occurred to me that my diet included very little in the way of probiotics, so I jumped in with both feet and started making my own.

Now, I am likely more inclined than most people to make my own fermented foods, because I love making things from scratch and always have (credit to my mother here). Our family makes and cans our own jam, relish, and marinara every year. I married a home brewer. We’re a little hippy dippy around here. This fit right in to my existing hobbies. However, I am telling you that making lacto-fermented vegetables is shockingly easy. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can do it. Don’t be intimidated. Give it a try!

You don’t need any special equipment for home fermenting. However, there is equipment available that makes home fermenting easier. I highly recommend the Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit (not a sponsored post, I recommend this product because I love this product). The glass weights in this set hold the vegetables underneath the brine. If your vegetables are above the brine and exposed to the air, you will get mold. So having a non-metal weight like this is key. The silicone pickle pipes in this set act as a one way valve, allowing the built up carbon dioxide produced by fermentation to vent from the jar and preventing air from entering. If you don’t invest in some form of valve, you will have to burp your jars at least daily. It also comes with a handy little mashing tool and a recipe book. While it is a $60 investment, you will recoup this cost quickly if you replace your daily probiotic supplement with lacto-fermented vegetables. You also need mason jars (as someone who was already into home canning, I have these in ample supply).

The amount of salt that you use for lacto-fermented vegetables is crucial. Too much salt and you will end up with an environment where even the good bacteria cannot thrive, amounting to dead bacteria and no fermentation. Too little salt and you will end up with an environment where nasty bacteria can thrive, amounting to a spoiled batch. Classic Goldilocks scenario here folks, you want your salt concentration just right. Firm vegetables (asparagus, beans, carrots) do well in a 2-3% brine, while soft/watery vegetables (cucumbers, onion) do better in a stronger 5% brine. Vegetables will ferment faster in a less salty brine, but will last longer and remain crunchier in a more salty brine. Tossing in a bay leaf for the tannins will also help to keep vegetables crunchier.

Getting the brine concentration right is fairly easy with the help of a kitchen scale. For a 1L mason jar, you measure out 10g for a 1% brine, 20g for a 2% brine, 50g for a 5% brine. Note that a tsp of salt is usually about 5g, so if you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can rely on tsp/tbsp measurements. This is just a slightly less accurate measurement. I mix my salt with a smaller volume of water than I think that I will ultimately need, and place this into the jar first. I then pack my vegetables into the jar, along with any herbs or spices that I want in the mix. Then I top the jars up with water. The salt water mixture will ultimately disperse into the fresh water to give your brine the correct concentration. I recommend against packing the jars and then pouring a salt water mixture over the vegetables, because following this approach may result in the full amount of the salt needed not getting into the jar if you have overestimated the amount of water needed.

The type of salt that you use for lacto-fermented vegetables is also important. You want an unrefined salt that is packed with minerals, like sea salt, pickling salt, or kosher salt. Avoid using iodized salt or table salt. These refined salts can inhibit the growth of beneficial bacteria, and we are trying to foster the growth of these probiotics when fermenting vegetables.

You can ferment any vegetable using this process, but I will set out my recipe for fermented asparagus, because that’s the batch that I just prepared. However, know that the same process can be followed for whichever vegetable you prefer. My 3-year-old son particularly likes lacto-fermented green beans.

Ingredients:

Asparagus (as much as you can pack into a 1L mason jar without exceeding the shoulder of the jar)

24g pickling salt (I opted for a 2.4% salt concentration; anywhere from 1-3% salt concentration will be suitable for asparagus; adjust salt if using a smaller mason jar)

Water

Optional herbs / spices (e.g., dill, mustard seed, caraway seed, fennel seed, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, hot peppers); I made a few batches with fresh dill, a batch with mustard seed, a batch with fennel seed, and a batch without any herbs or spices

Instructions:

Clean and sanitize your 1L mason jar(s), pickling weight(s), and pickle pipe(s).

Rinse and trim the asparagus, removing any woody ends.

Weigh out 24g of salt per mason jar, and add a smaller amount of water than you anticipate that you will ultimately need to fully submerge the asparagus, and stir or swirl to mix the salt into the water (my jars were about 1/5 full with salt water after this step).

Pack the asparagus tightly into the mason jar, ensuring that you do not fill above the shoulder of the jar. Add any herbs or spices you wish to use. Top the jars up with water ensuring that the asparagus is fully submerged and that your jar does not overflow when the pickling weight is added.

Place the pickling weight on top of the asparagus. Place the silicone pickle pipe on top of the jar and secure it with a mason jar ring. Place your prepared jar(s) out of direct sunlight and somewhere that is room temperature. Note that fermentation will happen faster in a warmer environment. I place my jars in my basement where it is a bit cooler, so my ferments usually take a little bit longer to complete. The ideal temperature for fermentation is 16-21 °C. I recommend placing a tray underneath your jar(s) to catch any blow off during the fermentation process.

Check on your jar(s) every day or two to ensure that there is enough brine in the jars. If any of the asparagus has poked out of the water, add more brine to your jar(s). To mix additional brine, combine 6g of salt with 1 cup of water and use this to top up the jar(s). After a week, you can start checking to see if the asparagus has reached the desired level of pickling by taste testing. You can come back every day or two to check on it. If you are fermenting in a cooler location, like I do, then you can start checking on the asparagus after about 10 days. Once the asparagus is to your liking, remove the pickle pipe and pickling weight, and replace them with a lid. Store in the fridge until ready to consume. Fermented vegetables will last for months in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Fermented vegetables that have turned bad will look dull or grey in colour.

Note, some fermentations don’t go perfectly. I lost a batch of sauerkraut to mold. If you see mold, chuck out the entire batch and clean and sanitize your equipment thoroughly. However, you may seem kahm yeast on the surface of your fermented vegetables. Kahm yeast is white or cream in colour and looks like a thin film or patches. It can appear to have wrinkles in the surface. Kahm yeast is harmless. You can scoop this off and eat your fermented vegetables. However, kahm yeast won’t appear fuzzy or colourful, so if you see something fuzzy or colourful, it’s mold.