[CaptainPhilFan]

Very cool. Never had kimchee but I appreciate all things naturally fermented.

I’ve tried fermenting my own sauerkraut with no success. Brands like Bubbies and Olive My Pickle offer kraut, pickles, and olives that are wonderfully, naturally fermented, bu t the cost is prohibitive.

As a result of my knowledge, failures, and lack of funds, I don’t typically buy or eat any of these items that are processed with chemicals.

I’ve got a head of cabbage in the fridge waiting for a salt bath and a long rest in a glass jar. Guess it’s time to give it another try.

[Red Badger]

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-kimchi-at-home-189390

[MayflowerMadam]

I read your profile. Just to encourage you, there ARE ultra conservatives in your area. My cousin and her family are in Cohoes and are super MAGA. They work in Albany. So, they’re there; you just have to find them.

[Zhang Fei]

[I’ve tried fermenting my own sauerkraut with no success. Brands like Bubbies and Olive My Pickle offer kraut, pickles, and olives that are wonderfully, naturally fermented, bu t the cost is prohibitive.]

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Sauerkraut is the easiest thing in the world to make. I usually do a pound at a time, but the typical ratio is between 2%-3% of salt by weight. I split the difference, use 2.5%, or 40 parts cabbage, 1 part salt by weight.

Remove a lb of leaves from a head and rinse them clean of grit or other impurities. Slice them into matchsticks with a sharp knife, a salad shooter or a food processor. The salt needed for 1 lb of cabbage is 16 oz/40, or 0.4 oz, which is about 1-1/2 standard teaspoons (the measuring spoons you get in a set at the grocery store).

Place the sliced cabbage in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the salt on the cabbage. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Work the salt into the cabbage for the full 2 minutes either with your hands or baking spoons. The idea is to get the salt evenly mixed in. Set aside for 10 minutes. (Osmosis causes the salt to enter the leaves while sweating brine).

Use a potato masher on the cabbage to get it to sweat out enough brine to cover the cabbage. Spoon it into a repurposed glass jam jar. Use a spoon to push the cabbage below the brine. Line the top of the jar with tripled over Saran wrap (so the eventual vinegar fumes don’t rust out the steel cover), and cover. Set aside for three weeks, after which it is ready to eat. Refrigerate to keep it crunchy.