Fermented dill pickles, plus kimchee
Comments (14)
Related Discussions
Dill pickle recipe
Comments (39)Regular cukes will soften quickly, and because the skins are so thick they will be tougher to enjoy. When I buy cukes for salads, I use pickling types as their skins are very thin and crisp, and are not needed to be peeled off. Can't say the same about regular cukes, as they would be like biting into a hard tough skin, and softer inside. Pickling cukes are the #1 choice and MUST be used immediately after picking!! to get the best texture. Chilling in ice water can help to recrisp them, but its short term only, and will not fix/replace an older cukes' texture, or to get to be crisp again for a longer time. If sunken, rubbery, soft, old, they are not going to be as good for making crisp pickles. Long English cukes (sport), are usually sold in a shrink wrapped plastic. The reason is simple. If left out to air they dry out very fast and you end up with a poor texture again. They are bred to offer the softest skins that are found on all cukes. I wouldn't use any English cukes for pickles, but they are decent in fresh salads however. As to the crocks, you may want to see if cheap the lead tst kits used for tsting paint might work. A tiny chip of the glaze may be a way to see if the sample shows positive for lead. I think crocks made before 1960-1970 are are questionable, but correct me if I am wrong....See Morehelp dill seed vs. dill weed
Comments (12)Ken - I have one fairly decent dill plant - (I was drooling over your picture of them), but will settle for what I can get. As my pickles are almost gone - I just fermented the last half-gallon a few days ago - so think I will gather some fresh seeds from that one dill plant and do a little "wild" sowing. (Imagine that - sowing wild oats - er - dill - at my age too). Ken were you able to get any plants in at all after that nasty rainy weather? My summer stuff is about fried - after a couple of hot afternoons - except for some sorry looking cherry toms and about 8 - 10 assorted peppers - 2 of which went through a winter dormant period - hot types I think. So - I'm taking a breather until September, when the fruit will be coming ripe in the local mountain fruit stands. Then hope to "do" a lot of juice - apples, peach, pears in jars. Squeezed another 2 pints of kraut in - now fermenting in the pantry, along with some zucchini pickles. Just my 2 c's. Bejay...See MoreAny great recipes for Harsch Crock Dill Pickles ?
Comments (4)Green Grandma, I don't have the original version so I can't compare. This latest version has two chapters that deal with fermentation; one called Fermented Pickles and the other is Sauerkraut, Kimchi, and Other Cabbage Pickles. This second one contains both brined and vinegared recipes. If it's any help, here is one of her recipes. Mustardy Dill Pickles Makes about 3 quarts 1 handful grape or sour cherry leaves About 4 pounds 3 to 5 inch pickling cucumbers, blossom ends removed Leafy tops of 4 celery stalks 1 large onion sliced 1/2 cup chopped fresh horseradish 1/4 cup whole yellow mustard seeds 4 to 6 dill heads 6 Tablespoons pickling salt 2 quarts water Lay half the leaves in the bottom of a gallon jar. Layer the cucumbers in the jar with the celery tops, onion, horseradish, mustard seed and dill. Dissolve the salt in water and pour over the cucumbers to cover them. Spread the remaining leaves on top. At this point, of course, you know what to do with the Harsch. She says fermentation bubbling should start within three days and the pickles should be ready in two to three weeks. (check them after two). She then suggests refrigerating them or processing. And by the way, I stand corrected: She says half-sours aren't prematurely taken from the brine. They are cured quickly in a low-salt brine, which hastens the fermentation so the pickles never get very sour and shouldn't be processed. (they're ready in a week) I envy you the sauerkraut. I'll be attempting it for the first time this fall if I can keep the cabbage worms off my plants. I've heard it's hard to make since the kraut must be cut very uniformly to give it the right texture. I sure hope that kraut board I bought at the antique shop works. Finally, if you aren't too busy, could you share your fermented beets recipe with me? I'd really like to try that. Thanks....See MoreKimchee recipe?
Comments (16)My ex-husband was Korean, so I made kimchee occasionally. Here is how I made it: 1 head of Napa cabbage, halved lengthwise (Sometimes the cabbage is cut up into smaller pieces, but it is not as good or as crispy that way, and most Koreans would never make it that way at home.) About 1/3 cup coarse salt 3 garlic cloves, sliced 6 green onions, sliced 3 tablespoons chili powder, or whatever amount desired for degree of spiciness you like (I bought this at the Korean market, but the kind sold at American grocery stores is fine. It seems to me that Asian chili peppers taste slightly different, but not much) 1 tbsp. sugar may add fish sauce, radishes, carrots, oysters, shrimp, really anything. Sprinkle salt all over cabbage sections, lifting leaves to sprinkle inside. Let stand at room temp for 3 hrs in a dish large enough to hold the substantial liquid that will accumulate. Turn occasionally. Then rinse cabbage in cold water and firmly press out liquid. Set aside. mix together all other ingredientsin a bowl, adding enough hot water to make a paste. Rub this all over the outside of the cabbage and between the leaves. Then take the outer leaves and fold them over to enclose the stuffing. Put that into a large glass container or Tupperware. Cover tightly. Leave out on counter for 2 days, then refrigerate 5 days before eating. My ex liked oysters added, and many others things can be added, depending on family and regional preferences. Generally, the farther South one goes in Korea, the spicier the kimchee. This recipe seemed fairly authentic and right to him. He's from Soeul. Sometimes, it came out too salty, maybe because I didn't rinse well enough. I've never used a crock, but, historically, women in Korea used to put the kimchee in earthenware jars and bury them for storage during winter before refrigeration existed. Kimchee is traditionally made in early winter, called "kimchang chol" and is meant to last through the winter, when food used to be scarce. Also, I've seen books of recipes for just kimchee, so you might take a look at those (try Amazon) if you really like kimchee. There are literally hundreds of types of kimchee. I have combined a couple of recipes from different Korean cookbooks. Hope this helps! Oh, I wouldn't trust a recipe from a cookbook that isn't by someone Korean....See More- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Here are some photos of my pickles, after three days of fermenting (Warning: jars have a blue tint):
You can see the one cabbage rib that I added, hoping this would help fermentation.
Maybe I added too many Bay leaves, but I find their flavor very mild. The carrots were cut into eighths, lengthwise.
Here is the kimchi, after two days of supposed fermenting (still using blue jars):
The carrots were julienned by hand, and I used regular cabbage instead of Napa because that's what was at the farmers' market.
Note that the liquid at the top is rather dark, due to the darkness of my Korean chili flakes. I've had them for a while, stored properly, but I think I might need to get new ones, but these have always been dark.
This one does not look like it is fermenting, although if it is, it is doing so very slowly. The jars all measure 73° with my thermometer gun, but they are probably somewhat cooler at night.
The pickles started bubbling after one day and spilled over into the bowl that I had placed the jar in. The top of the airlock has little holes in it, to allow excess pressure to escape. This is the first time I've used this kind of lid and my first time attempting to ferment something. In the past, I've made refrigerator pickles using brine plus vinegar, but these have no vinegar added.
Should I be concerned about the kimchi? I'll post photos again in a couple of days, which is when it is supposed to be ready - the pickles are supposed to be ready tomorrow. The pickles already look a bit cloudy (as I expected), but the kimchi does not.
Has anyone else used these airlock lids? They remind me of a chemistry experiment.
8 years agoA boiled brine is not fermentation. Heat will destroy any relationship between bacteria and yeast. Still good 'food'. Just not a ferment.
Here is a Momofuku kimchee video, LINK
I think yours will be fine Lars. Difficult to mess it up. I use airlocks for kraut but not very often for kimchee. I use my glass rectangle pyrex, 24 hours, then fridge it. It is good right away but keeps fine cold...just slows down the fermentation. The stack of 1/2 pints goes to work for lunches.
Smart to use quarts to begin. It took me a bit to get a blend I like. DH just adds more hot sauce to his. Last batch I used extra ginger and garlic, fennel and radish. I put celeriac on the grocery list. I really like the rice flour slurry to thicken the pepper sauce. (and I always use carrot julienne)
Lars thanked sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
PRO8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago- 8 years ago
- PRO8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
Here's how the kimchi looked this morning:
I decided it was fermented enough to refrigerate, and so I vacuum sealed tops on the jars and put the jars in the fridge in the garage. I tasted it first, and the flavor was not exactly what I wanted - I think I put too much chili flakes in it, and I also think the chili flakes were a bit old and lacking in flavor, although they were still hot - hotter than I really wanted. The garlic flavor was spot on, but I felt the carrot flavor was too strong - I'm not used to carrots in kimchi, and I will reduce the amount by half next time. Also, I used regular green cabbage instead of Napa (which I prefer), and next time I will not make that switch. Also, I will omit all sugar - the flavor was a bit too sweet for me, but that may have come from the carrots.
I'll taste it again after it has chilled - it was not ideal at room temperature.
annie1992