bok choy & daikon kraut
| 677 g | finely sliced bok choy |
| 521 g | grated daikon |
| 49 g | finely sliced Anaheim chili, seeds removed |
| 16 g | very finely minced lemongrass |
| 27 g | very finely sliced scallions, white & green parts |
| 7 g | very finely minced ginger |
| 8 g | minced garlic |
| 1305 g | TOTAL VEG |
| 26 g | kosher salt (2% weight of veg) |
| 28 g | kraut juice |
Mixed the bok choy and daikon, then thumped well. Mixed everything else in by hand afterward.
Packed the kraut into a couple of 1 quart mason jars, then used sanitised kraut springs and fermentation lids. There’s plenty of juice, so the springs keep everything submerged nicely.
I chose to add the kraut juice not only because I happened to have it on hand but also because I wanted to use the jar it was in.
2021-02-20
Gave it a first check today.
The ferments are clean. Not a spot of mold in sight. I’m feeling pretty happy about that, I gotta say.
The fermentation room is currently 13.3 C, and it’s been pretty cold the past few weeks (snow, even).
The pH on both of the jars is 3.8. I would like it to get down to about 3.5 or maybe a touch lower if possible.
A quick taste confirmed that it needs more time to do its fermenting thing. This is going to be a good kraut once it’s done, though. The lemongrass was especially pleasant in the taste I took.
I’ll check again in another 2 weeks. I expect this will be done by then.
2021-03-06
One of the two jars had a thin slick of mold across the top of the ferment. Closer inspection revealed the fermentation lid had popped?? Maybe the kraut spring pushed it open? It smelled a bit off and rotting, so I tossed it in the green bin.
The other jar was good and clean, though. The pH was 3.7 but the flavour and consistency was really good. I still like the lemongrass a lot but it’s less pleasant when you get a tough bit of it. Overall though, tasty kraut. I’m sad the other jar didn’t work out.
I moved the kraut from the 1 quart jar it was in to a 1 pint wide-mouthed one for storage in the fridge. I’ve been having kraut on the morning toast & hummus and am almost out of kraut, so the timing is good for this one…but not having 2 jars means I should probably start a new batch of something next week.