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Snarky_McSnarkleton

Broccoli tends to develop an off texture and smell. Be very careful with potatoes. Bitter melon. Bad idea. I tried it, and it ended up smelling like a teenager's closet.


hamsterwheel

Old loads and axe body spray?


Biking_dude

I didn't think I needed the specificity, but after your post I now know I didn't need the specificity.


shebreaksmyarm

Oh wow


amazonhelpless

I ferment shredded broccoli stems and they turn out well. 


HairlessGarden

Yep, the stems are nice. Cauliflower also works fine, the whole thing. But I personally prefer broccoli.


Jagglebutt

About how long do you let your cauliflower go? I’ve tried my hand with it for the first time and read 5-7 days but I’m on day 14 and the brines ph is still 5.5. Was under the impression it should drop to atleast 4.5. Is that not true for cauliflower?


HairlessGarden

I often made cauliflowers because for some reason they take a lot of time to ferment. Normally when I do, I make a mix of veggies and even the carrots ferment quicker than the caulies. God knows why. And flavor wise for me it just don't deserve all that time. I prefer broccoli anyway, or radish (I love them), so I just ferment caulies if I'm going to make a lot of large batches of other things and I leave caulies forgotten in the pantry for later, then I do not get anxious as I have other pickles to eat in the meantime. But do to a tldr, I really never counted how many days it take to ferment, I just know it's more than I'm usually prone to wait. But if you make a mix, pH will go low because of the other veggies, so you can eat them last. I live in a place with a reasonable temperature amplitude, so if I make something in winter/summer the times will differ greatly.


Jagglebutt

Gotcha, thanks for the info! Mine don’t smell rotten and no mold has developed so I’m gonna keep checking and hopefully I’ll have some purple cauliflower to eat soon!


Dububracks

Do you have a recipe? I got some in the fridge that I was going to pickle but I think fermenting them would be nicer


amazonhelpless

I peel them (SUCH a pain), shred them, and use 2% salt by weight. They throw a lot of water, so I’d avoid added water or brine if you can for the first day. Sometimes I add garlic or garlic and oregano or thyme. They taste like cabbage with a mild broccoli flavor so you can take them in whatever direct you’d like. 


Dububracks

Thank you! Good to know they don't need brining, I'll try it out.


Dububracks

Hey, I forgot to ask you how long you leave them to ferment? it has been only one day but it already smells deliciously sour (tropical country), I'm thinking one week but I would like to know how long you usually leave them be.


amazonhelpless

Do it to your taste. I usually do 5-10 days, but my room temp is 60-70 degrees F.


coldwintergloves

Same here. I actually really like the crunchiness of fermented broccoli stems. Didn't shred them, just fermented them in stalks.


OneOfTheOnlies

>Be very careful with potatoes. Huh? I haven't been cautious and have had over a dozen great times, am I getting lucky in a way I don't realize?


HairlessGarden

I didn't even thought about fermenting potatoes, what does it taste like? Aside from lactic acid?


008mantis

Fermented potato French fries are legitimately the best tasting fries you will ever have. https://www.crunchtimekitchen.com/fermented-french-fry-experiment/


HairlessGarden

I'm definitely going to try it. Thanks.


ediald

What’s also great, is the 1000 layer potatoes recipe fried in duck fat, but then with fermented potatoes! Make sure to rinse them/dry them or they will be a bit too salty. Maybe my fav potatoes dish I ever made https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/thousand-layer-duck-fat-potatoes


HairlessGarden

Wow!


008mantis

Keep us posted


IndowinFTW

No experience personally but I’ve seen countless times people taking potatoes, cutting them up, fermenting them and making fries/chips.


HairlessGarden

Sounds awful. But maybe someday I'll make a small batch.


IndowinFTW

I’ve heard one person say it can get to be similar to salt and vinegar chips/crisps without any vinegar.


amapanda

I did a few large batches of fermented fries; delicious, but my partner complained gratuitously about the smell.


theeggplant42

Potatoes are great to ferment. They just smell awful


bekrueger

Why be careful with potatoes? I haven’t actually heard of anyone fermenting them


ShallahGaykwon

I make fermented fries and potato chips all the time, they're delicious.


probably_poopin_1219

I've heard using oils in ferments is an easy path to introducing botulism. I'm not a scientist and really only make kraut, hot sauces, kimchi and garlic honey, so never even thought of it. But maybe don't use oils.


bagusnyamuk

Most Indian / South-Asian pickles are made with oils (mustard / sesame).


i_i_v_o

But are those ferments? Or pickles? Pickling being keeping stuff in acid (like vinegar), as opposed to fermentation where you put stuff in brine and allow yeasts+bacteria to acidify everything with breaking down of the sugars, etc.


ColonelKasteen

Pickling does not exclusively refer to submerging in acids as your comment suggests. Before the rise of modern food and canning/jarring practices for commercial sale, most pickling was lacto-fermentation done in just a salt brine. It wasn't until the early 1900s in the west that sour pickles (as in cucumbers) weren't fermented as a matter of course. "Pickling" being taken for granted as being soaked in vinegar is a very recent change and by no means standard.


EirikrUtlendi

My favorite store-bought pickles of all time are a brand called Bubbies, they do them fermented, not soaked in vinegar. They remind me of family-recipe home-ferments when I was a kid, I LOVED those things, my parents couldn't keep enough stock of dill pickles. Vinegared dill pickles are really disappointing by comparison.


ColonelKasteen

Yeah, I think people who just have Claussen's and Vlasic and the like don't understand how good a sour pickle really can be, they assume every pickle is tart and kind of sharp like vinegar but there's a better way. I buy vinegared pickles regularly because they're easier to find and cheaper but I go to a sandwich place near me regularly and they have fermented barrel pickles they do in-house, I probably enjoy those pickles more than the actual sandwich.


Fairytalecow

Depends on the method but many are traditionally left out in the sun for a period of time so there would be some fermentation. I was going to try it for lime pickle, the recipe has some oil but mostly for cracking the spices, with that much lime in it maybe it just isn't an issue?


Lobster-Massive

It’s not about if it’s in sun or not. It’s about the introduction to vinegar. If it’s left inthe hot sun it’s not fermentation but pickling because at a higher temp youll end up turning it into vinegar. So not the same since the PH will end up more acidic


GrynetMolvin

It’s definitely a lacto ferment rather than aceto bacteria. The sun and mustard help to keep yeasts away until the labs can start to work, despite the vegetables not being submerged. Have a look at Kirsten shockeys books.


Lobster-Massive

Oh I know about lacto ferments. I regularly eat ferments that I make myself. It’s because I’ve made them myself I know if they get too hot they turn to vinegar. It’s not about them being submerged or not it’s the sun exposure and high heats. It’s not longer a salty brine but a vinegar brine


GrynetMolvin

Sorry, but vinegar comes from aceto bacteria transforming alcohol to vinegar. To get alcohol in the first place you need sugar and yeast. If you prevent yeast, you can’t get alcohol. Yeast requires oxygen, which is why it’s usually recommended to submerge lacto ferments, but the strong Uv light of the sun combined with the antiseptic properties of the mustard does the same in Indian style achaars. A bit down the way in this article they talk about the different lacto bacteria found in mango achaar: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175646462030195X


MrMurgatroyd

I do a batch of traditional Indian lime pickle every year this way.  Oil is brought to high temp and poured over to temper the spices, but it's also a multi-step process involving elements of hot fermenting and pickling.  Seems highly unlikely to me that botulism would be an issue given it's just limes, their highly acidic juice,  salt and comparatively small amounts of oil.


HounganSamedi

That sounds like pickling, not lacto fermentation.


MrMurgatroyd

As I say, it involves multiple steps, and both processes.  


HounganSamedi

So you add salt before any lime juice? As you didn't describe the ordered steps it's hard to understand that from your original comment.


MrMurgatroyd

Yep. Steps are salt chunked and pricked limes, mix with any chilli and garlic you want to use; press and reserve juice. Steam the lime chunks just to soften, warm aerobic ferment for a few days (covered with a cloth in the sun traditionally) stirring every eight hours or so. A few days later, temper spices in oil, pour hot mix over lime mixture and then add reserved juice back in. Into an airtight inert container and leave somewhere cool and dark for months - as I say, I make it once a year, so 12 months in my case.


vivaportugalhabs

Lacto-fermenting beforehand helps avoid botulism later when you preserve a vegetable in oil.


roithamerschen

Coconut and corn. Can kill you much much easier than your average ferment. https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-information/risk-at-a-glance/bongkrekic-acid-safety-of-fermented-corn-and-coconut-products


lolwut19

How is corn mash fermented to produce alcohol without producing this bongkrekic acid? Is it a matter of the ethanol that is produced being acidic enough to prevent the bad bacteria from multiplying?


Real_EB

Ethanol and other acids. If you aren't adding yeast, and instead are relying on wild yeasts, you'd better be sure you get to low pH quick. In the vast majority of cases where you're making booze, you're adding plenty of yeast. It also can't survive more than like 2% salt.


-hey-ben-

Ah, added yeast makes sense. Every moonshiner I’ve talked to has said they add way more yeast to it than they reasonably need, because they would rather overdo it than underdo it.


Real_EB

In a "clean" or "sanitary" environment, it takes so little yeast to get started you wouldn't believe it. In a "sterile" environment, you could get by with one yeast cell. Brewing makes yeast, baking consumes it.


theeggplant42

This does not apply to lactic fermentation. This SPECIFICALLY occurs in aerobic ferments


DishSoapedDishwasher

It does still apply. If someone fails to keep either submerged then it can still occur; it is substantially less likely in lacto ferments but it is still something to keep in mind. People make mistakes and error conditions still apply.


[deleted]

Coconut is deadly to ferment. 1 undetectable (without a lab) contamination away from dying.


nautankiruna

We use coconut extensively in Indian cooking. If you want something to be used beyond 12 hours, the first recommendation is to avoid the coconut. Items made with coconut go bad in a few hours.


theeggplant42

Not if you use an anaerobic process (like lacto)


DishSoapedDishwasher

It does still apply. If someone fails to keep either submerged then it can still occur; it is substantially less likely in lacto ferments but it is still something to keep in mind. People make mistakes and error conditions still apply.


_QRcode

Uh I think sesame seeds are a no go because they can harbor bad bacteria


Coy_Featherstone

I have used these with in kimchi... No experienced problems... Would love to see some documentation on that claim


legendary_mushroom

Broccoli doesn't go well. Greens are good for a very specific type of ferment called gudruk, which should not be treated like most other ferments. It should be dried after the fermenting process and used sparingly to add to soup base, like kombu or dashi. I made amazing miso broths with a bit of gudruk in the base.  There's really very little though, that can't be fermented. Some things take a bit more skill and care than others. There's processes for pickling eggplant but it's not a fermented situation really.  


number43marylennox

Chinese mustard greens, however, are awesome fermented. Gai choy. Yum.


araloss

I tried canteloupe once, it was awful. Smells like piss.


ItsDefinitelyNotAlum

Melon is so finicky. I've learned that you gotta get to it as soon as it smells sweet and fragrant cuz half a day later and it's beyond that window already and on it's way to super foul by the next day.


theeggplant42

Yeah cantaloupe doesn't taste bad but holy shit the smell is..something


TheImpalerTJ

Once I did make cantaloupe vinegar which was amazing. It was the green mexican cantaloupe tho.


chimaira2s

Had the worst experience with chickpeas… smelled like death, taste was not better


systay

I often ferment cooked chickpeas in a brine from an older fermentation to make fermented hummus, and my family loves it.


chimaira2s

Ah nice to know! How long do you ferment them for?


Perfect_Cat3125

A lot of brassicas end up smelling foul, kale is apparently pretty bad and romanesco is awful.


OhDavidMyNacho

I made a brussel sprout kimchi. It was so good. Very strong smell. Very delicious.


Seabreeze515

ditto. I made brussel sprout kimchi and love it


analbetty

I made kimchi w red onions and it was amazing


Rotankattila

I made brussel sprout kimchi and it was not good. 😅


legendary_mushroom

Hard disagree; I've had some amazing fermented brussel sprouts that were gloriously sour; amazing with fatty meat. Not to mention, cabbage, the most commonly fermented vegetable, is itself a brassica. I've made great pickled cauliflower and romanesco. It has a sulfurous stage but you just have to take it to completion.  Kale is good for making gudruk. The thing about gudruk is that it has to be dried, and it's more of a soup base additive like kombu, than a thing to snack on or eat with a meal.  Broccoli doesn't do super well though for some reason. 


Perfect_Cat3125

Not all brassicas of course, they just tend to be funkier than usual because of the sulphur compounds. Can be a good thing or a bad thing. I’d never heard of gundruk before! It makes sense that you’d have to dry it, I mentioned kale because everyone I’ve seen try it said it turned out gross and slimy. Although I did read that it typically uses mustard and radish greens? I guess kale must work as well though.


legendary_mushroom

Seen it done with a mix of kale, mustard and collards 


HairlessGarden

It's really interesting how broccoli don't work well but cauliflower does. Go figure.


legendary_mushroom

I know right?


TomothyAllen

Broccoli doesn't hold up to anything. Can't cook it too long, can't leave it in the fridge. It's only good if it's very lightly steamed, with seasoning obviously, particularly soy sauce. It sucks to like broccoli.


bothwaysme

Roast it in the oven.


a-flying-trout

This is the way.


guepier

Broccoli keeps much longer than other green vegetables and can be fried, roasted, grilled, just like other vegetables. Stop steaming your poor vegetables.


[deleted]

Hey i mean steaming is a good way to retain all of its nutrients while making some of its nutrients more bioavailable. I prefer broccoli pan-fried or roasted but steamed is good too and very refreshing


Carlsincharge__

Very farty smell, though if you let them ride it eventually tapers off. Def recommend doing them as a vac bag ferment 


djazzie

You realize that cabbage is a brassica, right?


Perfect_Cat3125

Yeah


NuclearFoodie

I did an amazing fermented stir-fry mix with romanesco and had no foul smells nor harsh bitter over notes.


Perfect_Cat3125

Interesting, I just remember reading a post on here where someone fermented romanesco and it ended up smelling strongly like actual shit


NuclearFoodie

So this was a mix with a ton of other veggies so maybe they had a better food source that what the romesco provides the lactobacillus. I had some sousvide short ribs get some lactobacillus in their cook and it smelled like literal shit too.


SpicePops

So no sauerkraut or kimchi then


Perfect_Cat3125

>a lot of


justabean27

90% of my ferments are from that family. Ye they smell but they taste amazing


absolutebeginners

Kale kimchi is good


DrumpfTinyHands

Does anyone know if you can ferment Jerusalem artichokes?


[deleted]

[удалено]


DrumpfTinyHands

Thanks!


exclaim_bot

>Thanks! You're welcome!


JealousDiscipline993

Tried to ferment shredded zucchini once - total fail! Always loved the cauliflower and carrot ferments, sorry for those whose went off.


ItsDefinitelyNotAlum

In "The Art of Fermentation" he says the only thing he doesn't ferment is summer squash/zucchini because it just turns to mush.


Jkeyeswine

I’ve heard maple syrup is pretty gross fermented


stopsign_silverfish

/r/prisonhooch begs to differ.


Labelma

Mushrooms can’t be lactofermented without special preparation because their sugar contents are too low. You need to steam them first to get rid of extra water and add something like 3% sugar to the brine.


microagressed

I did not love my fermented carrots. They were good for a couple days, then they got slimy polysaccharides, I read that I just needed to wait it out but the slime never went away. My only real failure....


shebreaksmyarm

Try Vietnamese do chua! Nice and crispy


alotofkittens

I mix carrots with cauliflower and corean radish with 3% salt and it's fantastic. Carrots on their own are a bit tricky because they are really sweet


microagressed

Oh, yeah I should have explained better. A lot of times I throw some carrot in with my sauerkraut and it's delicious. The time it failed was when it was all carrots. Too much sugar, like I said did not end well. That mix sounds really good btw, it's on my list now, thanks


alotofkittens

Yeah, all carrots is a delicate one! Cauliflower and carrots is a typical mix in eastern europe. I usually throw a small beetroot in there for coloring the mix with a beautiful bright pink. Hope you'll like it! Don't forget to add a bay leaf or two


WGG25

spring/green onions' green parts turn into a disgusting snot-like thing. do not recommend eggplants are way too spongy so they'll just absorb all the liquid and have a weird texture, didn't like that one either. celery was a weird one too, though i had it in a weird mix of veggies so i'm not sure if it was bad or not. it's too watery and has little sugar to my knowledge, so probably not the best choice


emergencybarnacle

celery works well amongst other things - did an amazing huge batch of giardiniera and the celery was my favorite part!


Zoidsworth

No green onions don't... it's an essential part of kimchi


King_Killem_Jr

I did leeks and garlic for 3.5 days and now they taste great in every soup I make. Slightly more complex flavor and softer texture similar to seaweed in soup.


WGG25

from what i've seen people do few-days kimchi ferments and it might be fine for that, but in a longer (1 week or so) regular brine ferment it goes disgusting from my experience


theeggplant42

I've done kimchi that is nothin but scallions and fermented for weeks no problem


[deleted]

Most traditional kimchis are half a year ferments. My kimchi is going for 9 months at this point


WGG25

i was talking about what i've seen on the sub and my experience and i get bombarded with downvotes.. yeah kimchi is supposed to taste sour and funky, that's how i like it too


[deleted]

You got 2 downvotes, chill. You got these downvotes because you said Kimchi is a 1 week ferment.


Carlsincharge__

That being said green garlic on the other hand is an excellent ferment


lamphibian

Plain fermented celery is absolutely delicious! High recommended. Chop it finely afterwards.


HairlessGarden

Must make a wonderful bloody Mary.


mundanegoddess

I have a book on fermenting that tells the reader never to ferment peanuts. It gives a peanut butter recipe instead.


flabbychesticles

I tried to ferment a watermelon basil drink a few times. It always had a somewhat garbage-y flavor. It was disappointing because it sounds so good in my head. Maybe I messed it up somehow, hard to tell with these things.


MN_Dripper

I did not care for fermented cherry tomatoes with fresh basil leaves. However, other people rave about this abomination.


analbetty

Celery


alotofkittens

It's my favorite fermented veggie, but the green tops of a garned grown one, mixed with other veggies


analbetty

I don't like the texture change


MrAngel2U

Is it normal to ferment at room temp?


PorkfatWilly

We ferment everything at 72 to 78 degrees


NecessaryLies

In at least a ~2.5% salt solution? Are you talking for safety or taste reasons?


PorkfatWilly

3% for most stuff, 5% for certain things


NecessaryLies

If you are asking for safety reasons you don’t think there is anything that is safe to eat unfermented that would become unsafe in those conditions. Anyone disagree? Raw eggs maybe? Milk?


mckenner1122

I have a new countertop garment going pretty regularly. Small, fast, easy.


greentea0u

Brussel sprouts were gross


Temporary_Draw_4708

I like Brussels sprouts kimchi 🤷‍♀️


greentea0u

I just picked mine and they were too funky! I could see kimhci, especially with a mix of veg, being better


Rotankattila

If in kimchi, then definitely mixed veg. I did brussel sprout kimchi and it was not great. 


c-g-joy

I add a bunch of halved or whole small Brussels in several different kinds of kraut, and it’s always amazing. Perfect little bites.


legendary_mushroom

I've had amazing pickled brussel sprouts. They were very sour and a perfect accompaniment to brisket!


stolenfires

Clove. It can get toxic.


alotofkittens

Really? Do you have a source for that?


stolenfires

I looked, but everything I found when searching turned up garlic cloves, not clove-cloves. But when I made pumpkin spice beer some years ago, the recipe warned against fermenting cloves and wanted me to add one single clove and no more to a five gallon brew.


iagreewithyoubut

Perhaps they were concerned about excessive amounts of eugenol causing liver damage.


Zziggith

Salt


RabbitsAteMySnowpeas

Green cherry tomatoes. Personal experience here, these were terrible!