For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    I know it's a deadly sin if you believe in that kind of stuff but I covet your ten gallon crock.

    My neighbors rescued a five gallon one from a property that was going to go under the bulldozer. I'm always on the lookout for one.

    I'm just working on a one gallon glass jar. I have some larger plastic buckets, and that's what I used to use for pickles and kraut.

    Reminds me of a joke (because I like to tell jokes on Thursday, and I like banjo jokes even though I also like banjos).

    Do you know the difference between a banjo and a hammer dulicmer?
    Dulcimer burns longer.

    I know you know the difference between a banjo and an onion.
    Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.

    And to be fair; Do you know how to get a guitar player off your porch?
    Pay him for the pizza and tell him to go away.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I know it's a deadly sin if you believe in that kind of stuff but I covet your ten gallon crock.

    My neighbors rescued a five gallon one from a property that was going to go under the bulldozer. I'm always on the lookout for one.

    I'm just working on a one gallon glass jar. I have some larger plastic buckets, and that's what I used to use for pickles and kraut.

    Reminds me of a joke (because I like to tell jokes on Thursday, and I like banjo jokes even though I also like banjos).

    Do you know the difference between a banjo and a hammer dulicmer?
    Dulcimer burns longer.

    I know you know the difference between a banjo and an onion.
    Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.

    And to be fair; Do you know how to get a guitar player off your porch?
    Pay him for the pizza and tell him to go away.

    Bluegrass banjo is my goal, and my deep,deep despair. I've signed up (just recently) for an online instruction thingie with the stellar Noam Pikelny. This has nothing to do with produce, sadly.

    I got my crocks at the local Ace hardware, I think, maybe Gohn Bros or Vermont Country Store back in the day (?) but I'll bet Amazon'll do ya, nowadays.
  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 230 Member
    Crock-fermented pickles are the best! I haven't made them since my crock went missing in a move over 40 years ago. Maybe it's time to replace it.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    They sure aren't cheap.

    And they take up a fair bit of space.

    Maybe I can just borrow my neighbors'
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    They sure aren't cheap.

    And they take up a fair bit of space.

    Maybe I can just borrow my neighbors'

    In times of un-use, flip it over and use it as a side table or plant stand. There are other options, but this is the easiest. (When I was making kraut, I lived in a 12x56' house trailer with another adult, 2 dogs, 2 cats. There was not a lot of space. 😆)
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    If I ever grow up (not likely) I aspire to be like @AnnPT77
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    senalay788 wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I went out to the post office today.

    When I got home, there was an odd funky smell in the house. You know how you get accustomed to smells and don't notice them after a while. Well, this one was like something was fermenting, and it wasn't fresh bread dough. I was worried maybe there was some food somewhere or my cat barfed or something. I sniffed around trying to figure out what it was.

    Then I remembered.

    I'm making sauerkraut. It's just cabbage fermenting. Whew. Only a couple more weeks and it will be done. I pulled the jar out of the bucket today, and it's bubbling along nicely.

    You keep fermenting cabbage in the house? Wow.... respect lol :)
    My parents keep the buckets in the garage and thats bad enough.

    Reminds me of when I went to my Korean friends house back in the day and her grandparents were making Kimchi. Its like someone smacked you in the face as you enter lol :)

    oh oh...and I was going to make my first batch of sauerkraut today. I still will but I live in a condo....no downstairs. Worth it (I hope)!
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    I've been purchasing an unpasteurized organic sauerkraut that I love, but it is pricey (especially the amount I consume!). I wish I could find one that is unpasteurized/organic inexpensively....hence me going to make my own:)
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I've been meaning to make sauerkraut, will have to see how stinky it is in practice.
  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 230 Member
    I love all the glorious funky smells of fermenting foods. It's probably good that I have no close neighbors. Or maybe that's WHY I have no close neighbors..
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    Personally I didn't find it that stinky in practice, but maybe because the house trailer I was living in was probably on the drafty side, even in Winter? 😉

    It sounds like you're using a different process, maybe? Can't tell.

    Mine was in a open crock (if anything over it, just a light, loose cloth to keep dust off). A plate inside kept the kraut submerged, and every day we skimmed the surface, washed the plate (and any weight that was on it, if that was needed to keep the plate submerged), and put it back together again. Perhaps the open air setup makes the stink more general but lighter by normal air-current dispersion, perhaps the skimming/washing limits it a bit? I don't know. Maybe I just have high tolerance for stinky stuff. 😆 That last is probable, actually: I'm not very sensitive to minor perturbations around me, more oblivious by nature.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    It doesn't really stink that bad. It was just an odor that reminded me of "something going off." Well... that's because it is! I don't have a garage, and it's way too cold out in the shed fora ferment. I went to the dentist today, and when I came in the house, I didn't even notice. Next I'll make some kimchi. I almost added at least some shredded carrot to this batch.

    Cabbage, even organic cabbage, is pretty inexpensive. It's amazing how much of a value added product it becomes when you add salt and let it develop a colony of lactic acid bacteria.

    In the past, I've used the weighted plate method. I'm just using a one gallon glass jar this time, so I'm using the "brine filled bag" technique. It's recommended with this technique that you do NOT take out the bag to skim the scum. I do check it every day. If liquid has bubbled out of the jar, I pour that out. I bet that's where the stink was coming from.

    I'm actually tempted to fill a quart jar with garlic cloves and cover with brine to see if that will ferment. That will be an expensive experiment. I was making red onion and carrot quick pickle for a while; this will be mmm mmm good.


  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    @o0Firekeeper0o

    Those look tasty; I bet they are. Do you use convection or just regular oven? Do you steam them first or just roast? I imagine they take much longer than potatoes or beets.

    I am envious of your Vitamix. And all the uncluttered counter space. My kitchen is a challenge for me, although I still love cooking there. I remember someone I used to work with said her mom used to be able to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the little space between the sink and the edge of the counter.....
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
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    Bought a couple butternut squashes and treated them exactly how I do my roasted potatoes. Very tasty, even my husband (who hates winter squash) said it was like “an inferior roasted potato” which is actually a compliment :D

    😋 yum!