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Welcome to week 28! Where has this year gone?
This week, I am featuring a recipe from my friend Melanie, publisher of the Pickle Me Too website. Melanie is also a fellow Nourished Living Network blogger and I have really enjoyed getting to know her over the last year or so. You might remember Melanie from when she stopped by back in February and shared her recipe for lactofermented Brussels sprouts. Yum!
I am doing a recipe review of sorts. You see, I have been seeing some of my friends just raving about how amazing Melanie’s Indian Spiced Lactofermented Cauliflower was. I, however, was skeptical. First, I am still new to fermenting and I am not very adventurous. I was a little concerned about the flavor, because I have never really used a lot of spices in my ferments before. I don’t know why I was concerned, considering curry is one of my favorite foods and I love the Indian spices used to make curry blends.
So, I decided to jump in and try it.
And it was amazing.
Probably one of the best ferments I have ever made.
The only terrible thing about it is that I will no longer be making it. Since I am getting serious about my thyroid health, I will be avoiding all goitrogenic foods, at least for awhile. Once I get a handle on things, I will perhaps add some of them back into my diet, but since lacotfermentation actually increases the goitrogenic effects, I am going to steer clear of fermenting cabbage, cauliflower, chard, etc. When I do add them back into my diet, they will be in cooked form.
Now, a couple notes about this recipe.
1. Melanie’s original recipe uses a Mason jar. Since we are no longer using Mason jars to ferment in, she has written up a handy, dandy post about how to convert your Mason jar ferments to anaerobic jar ferments. Like me, Melanie will at some point get her recipes updated for the anaerobic fermenting method, but until then, this post is great! I will be going back through some of the older 52 Weeks of Bad A** Bacteria recipes and posting updated versions using the anaerobic jars.
2. The original recipe makes approximately 2 quarts. I used a 1.5 liter jar and it fit perfectly.
3. Investing in a kitchen scale is a great idea, so that you can measure out your salt. You will be shocked to discover that the 2% brine that is recommended for most vegetable ferments is way less salty that what your traditional Mason jar recipes call for. One reason I never really liked ferments is because they always were so salty. Some recipes called for 3 tbsp. of salt, but there is such a variance in the size of the salt (from super fine to super course), it was hard to get a consistent recipe.
4. I get a lot of questions as to what jars I like for fermenting and I recommend the anaerobic fermenting systems from my affiliate partner, The Probiotic Jar. High-quality products that will give you a delicious ferment that has gone through all of the proper stages of fermentation (unlike Mason and Fido jar ferments) and will yield the highest levels of gut-healing probiotics.
Indian Spiced Lactofermented Cauliflower (a recipe review)
Melanie’s Original Recipe
makes approx. 2 quarts
Ingredients
- 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup whey, veggie starter or an additional tbsp of salt
- filtered water
Instructions
- In a 1/2 gallon mason jar, layer cauliflower, spices and salt, gently pressing cauliflower in.
- Pour whey over the top and fill jar with filtered water.
- Cover tightly and shake to disperse spices and dissolve salt.
- Loosen cover and let set at room temp for 3-5 days.
- I like to tighten the lid on the last day of fermentation to seal in a little effervescence. Nothing more fun than fizzy vegetables!
Jessica’s Version
makes approx. 1.5 liters
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower (mine was medium-ish), chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1.5 tbsp my own curry powder blend
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 1/2 tbsp. chili powder blend
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1.5 liters of 2% brine (19 grams of salt per 1 quart of water)
Instructions
- Make your brine. 19 grams of salt to 1 quart of water – for this recipe, double the brine and then save what little is left over. I always make my brine in big batches and then just store the extra for when I need it.
- Chop your cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
- Slice your garlic cloves into thin strips. You can also crush them like Melanie does. I like the thin strips because it’s just enough to give you a nice garlicky zing, but not enough to burn your mouth.
- Stir all of your spices together, so that you can sprinkle it over your cauliflower in layers.
- Pack your cauliflower into the anaerobic fermenting jar, alternating with a layer of cauliflower, a little sliced garlic, and a sprinkle of the seasoning. Really pack it down in there.
- Use a weight over the cauliflower to keep it submerged. There are all sorts of things that you can use for weights. This just ensures that the food stays underneath the brine during fermentation.
- Pour the brine over the cauliflower and fill it to the neck of the jar, leaving about 1 inch of room between the top of the brine and the lid.
- Place in a part of your house that is between 68 and 72 degrees. That is the ideal fermentation temperature, however, if your house is like mine, it’s never that cool, except in the middle of winter. So, I put my ferments in the basement, where the temp stays around 75.
- Wrap your jars in a towel – UV light destroys the lactic-acid bacteria that we are trying to cultivate. Make sure you don’t cover the airlock if you’re using an anaerobic jar.
- Leave at room temperature until the bubbling stops (also, check the airlock daily to make sure it still has adequate water). When the bubbling stops, it means that the active fermentation process is done and it can then be moved to the fridge. To see if there is active bubbling, you can tap on the outside of the jar and you will see bubbles rise to the top. If no bubbles rise, it’s done. In my basement, mine took 5 full days. And, honestly, I think I should have left them for another day, but I was just too darn excited to eat them …
- Move to the fridge. I remove the airlock lid and replace with a standard Fido lid for storage.
- Let chill completely and then enjoy!
Make sure you head over to Melanie’s website and show her some love! Learn more about her, check out her selection of fermented recipes, and read her articles on fermentation.
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Sounds delicious. I just put a batch together, we’ll see how it turn out. I’ll pop back on and comment when it’s done. Thanks for the recipes. Keep them coming.
Hi Adrienne – I think you’ll love it! I could eat this at every meal, it’s so delicious! I am sad that I have to say goodbye to the Brassica for awhile 🙁 Eat some for me! 🙂
P.S. Thank you for your kind words and I look forward to hearing from you!
Mmmmmm, so good. I really like this recipe. It’s a toss up on what to do with the cauliflower now. Husband votes for roasted with browned butter and sage, but I vote for this stuff. He likes it too, just not as much as the fattening version 🙂
Yummy, this sounds like a great recipe! I need to make a greater variety of ferments so this is a good place to start.
This looks really good! I need to give it a try and expand my ferment varieties a bit.
Thanks for sharing it over at Fill Those Jars Friday. Hope to see you there again later this week!
Could impossibly use the leftover lliquid from another cultured vegetable rather than make another brine?
Hi Terrie – I don’t recommend doing that, as ferments need to go through specific stages of fermentation. That is why I don’t use any starter cultures in any of my ferments. When you add starter cultures, it creates an environment where not all steps of fermentation take place. If you have extra brine, the best way to use it up is to add it to salad dressings. Does that help?
I was just curious about your vegetable ferments. The only things I’ve ever done are sour kraut and pickles and they are both shelf-stable. You said to keep these in the fridge, but do they have to STAY in there or are they ever shelf-stable? I can afford to get another fridge for ferments and our fridge is always full. Thus is why I bottle to begin with. Thank so much! This recipe looks amazing!
Hi Regina – My guess is that the kraut and pickles that you are familiar with have been canned. The canning process kills all the beneficial bacteria due to the heat. In order to get the probiotic benefits of raw vegetable ferments, they can’t be exposed to heat. The fridge is typically the most convenient for storage, though I do know people who have root cellars that stay cool enough to store certain ferments long-term. Most people don’t have that ability, so keeping them in the fridge for long-term storage is required. You don’t want to keep live ferments at room temperature long-term, as it will create high levels of alcohol and will eventually become inedible. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe and followed to the letter, but I ended up having to leave it longer (3 weeks). When I popped it open on Easter it was effervescent and smelled wonderful. However it was so salty tasting, it was inedible! Should I toss the entire batch or try leaving it to ferment longer?
Hi there – The ferment time will depend on the time of year. The cooler the weather, the longer it will take. As far as the salt, how much did you use? If you followed this recipe, then it should not be overly salty. Ferments will be a tad on the salty side, but they should never be inedible!
I just made this and as much as it smells good inside my container, it releases some pretty bad gassy smell 🙂
Hi Oli! Yes, this can definitely be an strong off-gasser! It tastes amazing though! 🙂
It does taste good. My curry is spicy so I get a kick. My fermentation was quick as it’s tough to get below 80 in So Cal.
So glad you liked it! This is one of my faves! Yum! 🙂
Mine is currently brewing! I used the first recipe. I cut the salt in half and instead of whey I thew in 1/4cup of my kombucha. Let’s hope this works.
Hi Analida! Thanks for stopping by! I hope it turns out delish! Let me know how it goes. 🙂