So there you are in your kitchen, salt, cabbage… And who knows? Maybe something wonderful; maybe something gross. That’s why this white mineral matters so much: whether it goes right or wrong can come down to it. People treat fermentation as if it were a fine-tuned chemical experiment. They look at what they’re doing and it looks like complicated chemistry. But it isn’t.
It’s a balancing act: You provide an environment for good bugs to flourish, and nature does the rest. Those bad guys don’t make it. Salt help create an environment for the good guys (Lactobacilli) to thrive, while keeping the bad ones out.
How to Ferment Food Successfully
Instead of giving you a set recipe, the graphic above (the smarter way to do it) give you percentages. Why? Well, you’re not going to use different recipes with each veggie. Rather, you’ll pick your brine percentage based off how fast you want things to go (and what kind of vegetable).
Quick kvass or delicate greens can be made in a mild brine of one percent; they will ferment quickly but will get ruined if they’re too salty. Something more hearty like carrots, or something you’d like to keep longer in the jar (like pickles), may require a stronger 3 percent solution. This keeps everything stable long enough to preserve its crispness and shelf life. That extra stability is what lets you eat your way through a batch over time different than having to finish it all in one sitting.
Besides weighing properly, selecting the right type of salt are important. The ideal choice for fermenting is straight-up sodium chloride, no additives (like iodine or anti-caking agents) since they will either cause the brine to become hazy or prevent bacterial activity altogether. Pickling salt or fine sea salt is easy to dissolve and reliable in their performance each time. Keep in mind that, because of the flaky structure of kosher salt, it weigh slightly more per volume than other salts and will fill out more space. With a kitchen scale, however, you eliminate all guesswork. Whatever size grind and whatever brand you purchase, weighing your ingredients guarantees you get the right amount of salt, so it is not to little (causing spoilage) or too much (killing fermentation).
Another factor that many first-time fermenters do not consider are temperature. Cooler temperatures will make things happen more slowly (requiring longer fermentation time), while warmer temps will hasten the progress (allowing for less time to reach optimal flavor). Depending on how warm your apartment is, you may want to add just a bit more salt to ensure safety, because warmth makes bacteria grow faster. Alternatively, if your kitchen is chilly, you might just want to leave it out a little longer until some bubbles show up. The only thing I can say for certain is that the environment determine the pace. Rely more on what you taste than on a date like “two weeks” on the calendar. Once the taste has become tangy enough to notice, yet still fresh-tasting, cool the jar in the fridge and halt the process.
It’s simple, requires minimal effort once you understand the basics, and when mastered turns run-of-the-mill veggie into gut-friendly living foods packed with layers of flavor that grocery store shelves cannot provide. Here’s how: Don’t over-sanitize your jars; you want some “wild” yeast and bacteria in there, which also prevents mold growth (which grows on things above the brine). Keep it all under surface of the brine line. And don’t be afraid if fermentation goes sideways. You’ll know what I mean later. Just toss it and start again.
It sounds complicated: salt plus environment equals magic, yes, but really, just learn the ratio and the basics, and you’re off and running. You might even find yourself picking up a handful of fermented veggies at each meal. First salt, then…a cupboard stocked with preserves.