Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
Our family enjoys all kinds of fermented foods. A few of our favorites include cherry tomatoes, kombucha, kraut, and kimchi. We are having a lot of fun using the starter kit from Fermentools. Along with making nutritious, fermented foods, our family has had fun learning about the science of fermenting and bacteria. Yay for probiotic rich foods!
Fermentation is the process of bacteria or yeast breaking down a substance, in this case, food. When fermenting kombucha tea, the sugar feeds the SCOBY (or mother bacteria, so to speak), and the SCOBY converts the sugar to a fermented tea. When fermenting kraut or other fruits and vegetables with lacto-fermentation, you use whey combined with a little Himalayan salt, to produce super healthy, good lactic bacteria that ferments the foods.
The pink or gray Himalayan salt used in the fermentation process doesn’t make the food extra salty- it keeps the produce fresh, crunchy, preserves vitamin content, and can slow the fermentation process to allow flavor to develop more fully- all while preventing bad bacteria from growing. The recipe I used this time was from the Fermentools website, a basic jarred sauerkraut.
For this recipe, I simply chopped my cabbage, mashed it a bit using a small pounder to release it’s juices, and then packed in a jar.
We covered with a brine made from the pink salt, then placed the glass weight on top.
Then to the top of the jar we added the rubber canning gasket, screwed on the stainless steel canning lid, plugged in the stopper and the airlock, and we were in business!
After about a week we had delicious, pungent kraut! This is full of probiotics, and nutrients- a perfect addition to sandwiches, and suppers.
As you can see, the kraut changed from a lighter green/yellow to a darker color.
Our kraut turned out delicious! This recipe was very similar to a super market kraut, but with much better crisp and flavor … and of course all the nutrients and probiotics you don’t find in the supermarket brands.
We love that fermentation boosts the good-for-you value of our fruits and veggies. It can make regular vegetables so much more appealing to children and adults, it’s fun to do, and with the starter kit, it’s so simple!
No crock or jar burping needed with the Fermentools starter kit. The airlock system does all the work for you. At first I had a little bit of water come up through the air lock, because I overfilled my jar ?♀️ Which the directions specifically said not to do. But after I poured that liquid out, we didn’t have any more problems and it didn’t affect our food or the fermentation process at all.
You will notice as you ferment, if you remove the lid and airlock, there is a strong scent- sour but not spoiled- coming from your food. That’s the bacteria multiplying and doing it’s job! You will not see mold or anything growing on your food (that’s a bad sign), but you will see bubbles in the liquid, and often a slight change in color.
The airlock system from Fermentools makes fermenting absolutely fool proof. It’s so easy to ferment using just salt, and now you can do it without needing to constantly give attention to your jar. Once your fermentation is done, remove the lid and airlock system, rinse with warm water, and store away. Replace the lid with a plastic lid, and your fermented food can go to the fridge to keep. Ours keeps a *long* time. Like … I know we have had kraut last months. But it’s really so good you will find reasons to eat it with everything!
I love how simple the airlock system is, how complete the starter kit is, and how easily it stores away without taking up space in my kitchen. This is a go to for any real-food foodie in your life!
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