Lacto-Fermenting: A Faster Way to Ferment Vegetables (2024)

FAQs

How to speed up lacto-fermentation? ›

Generally, we recommend using 2% of the weight or volume of the ingredients in salt in your lacto-fermentations. (See How to Choose Between Brining and Dry Salting to find out whether you should calculate from weight or volume). To remember: The less salt (1 to 2% salt), the faster the fermentation.

Five days at room temperature is the time needed for a lacto-fermentation to be ready. By ready, we mean that the lactic acid bacteria are well under way. This is when lacto-fermentation tastes great and is healthy! However, for flavour purposes, some recipes suggest longer than 5 days.

Lacto-fermentation is the process by which bacteria break down the sugars in foods and form lactic acid. Lacto-fermented foods include yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles.

Regular consumption of lacto-fermented vegetables may stimulate bacteria with the potential to produce butyrate, a compound in the gut that is widely known for its positive effects on health.

“There's no vegetable you can't ferment,” he said, but added that leafy greens such as kale — because of their chlorophyll content — aren't to most people's liking. During an NPR interview, Katz explained that pickling and fermentation are not the same, although they are “overlapping” categories.

Fermentation times can be shortened by using powdery (non-flocculent) strains of yeast or by mechanically stirring the fermenting wort. The yeast can also be roused toward the end of fermentation by the injection of carbon dioxide or by using a re-circulating device.

Firm vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, asparagus, beets and carrots and tomatoes require 1.5% to 3% brine, or 15 to 30 grams of salt for each litre of water. Cucumbers, onions and radishes require 5% brine (50 grams per litre), and olives require 10% brine (100 grams per litre), for example.

You Don't Need a Refrigerator to Store Lacto-Fermented Vegetables.

As long as your veggies are submerged in a brine and mold hasn't grown, you're on track. These signs may include bubbles from carbon dioxide, a cloudiness in the brine or the color fading from the vegetables. If you REALLY don't think something is fermenting, taste it after a couple days (not hours).

Sometimes, if you do keep your veggies out for too long, then they tend to turn mushy. However, this is not necessarily only due to longer time period of fermentation. You might have simply used too little salt, or the fermenting temperature may have been a bit high.

How to speed up fermentation of vegetables? ›

Salt is typically added during lacto-fermentation to speed up the process and get rid of any bad bacteria lurking in your veg.

In alphabetical order, the best vegetables for fermenting include cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, garlic, kohlrabi, peppers, radishes, snap beans and turnips.

Combine 2 Tbs salt for every 4 cups of room-temperature water to create the salt brine. Be sure to make enough to submerge all the vegetables you are fermenting. Stir vigorously to dissolve salt. Pour the brine on top of the veggies, until they are completely submerged.

Quick pickles, the most common type of pickle found in grocery stores, are not fermented because they use an acid, such as vinegar, in their pickling brine. However, Lacto-fermented pickles are fermented because they follow the lactic acid fermentation method, which only uses water and salt in its brine.

A lid with an airlock is not necessary for fermenting vegetables. As long as vegetables are kept below the brine, they will turn out well. Some people choose to use a jar or crock with an airlock or water seal. These products, while not required, give great results and discourage mold, which can occur otherwise.

Fermented foods that are properly prepared and stored in a cool, dark place (like the refrigerator) can last at least 4-18 months. Always look for any signs of mold, an even color throughout, and make sure it still looks edible.