Cultured Veg

[Kirsteen]

Ok so this isn't so much a recipe as a question. I've been watching the 3 videos on Kevin Gianni's site about making cultured veg and I'd really like to give it a go. However, she (sorry can't remember name of lady demonstrating it) says that for the week or so that the jars are culturing (is that a word?) they have to be kept at a fairly steady temperature of about 70. If the temperature drops they'll stop culturing and can spoil and go bad.

Now this is Scotland. I've no idea what the overnight temp is, I only know it's Baltic when I wake up. I can't afford to keep my heating on overnight so is there any way round this. Has anyone tried it? Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Raw Rob]

Not sure how true that is. My partner makes sauerkraut here in London, and the temperature always goes well below that at night (70F is 21C). She is from Lithuania where it is traditional to make sauerkraut in the winter and it gets very cold there!

Rob

[Jax]

Well if you do need to keep it warm, I'm assuming you may get somewhere with a thermos flask or maybe a heated blanket (although neither will be great at keeping a constant temp), have you got a dehydrator ?..........failing that, take it to bed with you ;)http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Kirsteen]

Thanks Rob. I'll give it a go and see what happens.

[Kirsteen]

I don't have a heated blanket or anything like that. I did think of trying to fit the jars into the dehydrator but it would have to be on for about a week and I'm not sure if the temp actually goes low enough. I think I might try sticking the jars on top of the fridge freezer at the back and hope they get a little heat from it. I em really don't fancy taking them to bed with me :-) It's only a single bed and I already share it with a large black moggy wo insists on lying right across it forcing me into about a quarter of the width. Jars as well - no too much :-)

[Jax]

LOL maybe you should get the cat to lay on them all night http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Kirsteen]

Why do i always keep getting conflicting info. One site says close the jars and leave them undisturbed for about a week. Another site says they have to be opened every 2nd day to release the build up of fermenting gases or they can explode. Anyone know which is right??

[Raw Rob]

Maybe it depends on what exactly you are making. For sauerkraut, my partner says open it every 3 days and stab it all the way to the bottom with a knife to release the gasses that have built up.

Rob

[Kirsteen]

Thanks, I'll try that. Am all set to start but our water's been turned off so I'm trying to wait until it comes back on before I start anything messy that's going to leave cleaning up to be done :-(

Forgot to add I was going to try it with a mixture of cabbage, carrots and beetroot

[Raw Rob]

Here's Jolita's recipe. The ratio of salt is 7g per 1kg of cabbage.

Ingredients
1.8 kg cabbage
1 carrot
13 g salt
tablespoon juniper berries
tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)

Method
Thinly slice or grate the cabbage and grate the carrot. Put into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Beat until juice is released. You need to beat it for quite a while. A good tool to us is a rolling-pin.

Place some of the mixture into your ceramic pot. Press it down with your hands. Add more and press down, repeating until all is used.

Put something on top of the cabbage, preferably wooden. Then use heavy stones to press it down. The juice should be covering the cabbage.

Keep at room temperature for 3 days. Open and remove any scum from the top. Stab the cabbage with a knife to release air, stirring to make sure all is stabbed. Leave for another 3 days and then repeat.

2 or 3 days later, try it to see if it is ready. It should be good to eat by now, although it is possible to leave to ferment longer if you want.