If it is produced commercially in Australia, it would be available to grow, @Kate Ellery. It is easy to grow, and there are warnings about it "going wild" and taking over a garden, but we have never had that problem. One of our friends grows it in a large container, but we have it in the ground in an area we can mow around in case it gets vigorous.
I bet an arid environments makes some pungent stuff. My local seafood shop makes their own and sells it. I suspect it's the grated root, vinegar and salt...not fermented. That recipe you linked was Root+Salt+Water, and only recommended a 3-7 day fermentation time. Maybe vinegar is used when you don't ferment (will it kill the fermentation process?)
Well vinegar is a fermented product as well? so I honestly don’t know what the difference would be apart from the more acidic taste
I just read this, but I am not an expert: Website 1: The answer, in short, is that vinegar doesn’t completely put a stop to fermentation. However, it does significantly slow the process. If you introduce vinegar to your mixture at the beginning stages of the fermenting process, it can slow down the fermentation and really limit the growth of all of those good lactic acid bacteria that a good fermentation requires. That being said, if you add in a small amount of vinegar later on in the fermentation process, the flavor and enzymes will have developed to a point where they can withstand the vinegar and survive. Website 2: Acetic Acid (vinegar) in concentrations of 3% w/v essentially kills yeast fermentations. Vinegar at concentrations above 0.6% w/v have inhibitory effects on growth of brewers yeast and some spoilage bacterial species at a concentration of 3% w/v but does not adversely affect lactic acid bacteria. Vinegar can be used to slow or stop fermentation when used in high enough concentrations but in most cases vinegar is used to provide inhibitory effects on spoilage microorganisms in the first stages of fermentation. I hate to post even that, since I did not read and digest either article in its entirety. I guess the best advice is to follow the recipe, huh?
When fermenting, if there are yeast present, they will ferment the product until the alcohol concentration kills the yeast, but bacteria will be breaking down the alcohol as things go along and will produce acetic acid. When the alcohol runs out, the bacteria MAY begin digesting the acetic acid in lieu of the alcohol, thus weakening the vinegar as time goes by. The way to stop this is to add alcohol to feed the bacteria until the acid concentration is too strong for the bugs to live. That is the way I understand it anyway. What some people don't understand is that to preserve food, it is the concentration of acetic acid NOT just the pH that is involved here. I have tried to tell people this, but have been called "a captive of the industrial complex" and a number of other things to the point that I don't generally try any longer. If you want to know if your home made vinegar is safe for pickles, etc., you have to TITRATE THE ACID CONCENTRATION, not just take the pH. Using home made vinegar for salad dressing and such is fine, but you must use some "fancy chemistry" if you are going to safely use it for food preservation. If you ferment your own food in situ, you will attain a suitable concentration of acid naturally, but if you let it continue for a long period, you may lose the acidity of the mixture over time. Add a little salt and that will help keep that from happening as well.
I wonder how much conflicting info there is out there, depending on whose kitchen you learned to can in. I've seen wide swings in temps & methods for dehydrating stuff.
There are literally hundreds of youtube videos about canning foods, including meats. I was watching one a few nights ago where a woman was putting raw stew meat, carrots, potatoes and onions into quart jars and putting the jars into a steam canner. She also canned (in jars) a lot of deer meat. Since we see commercially canned meat products so I don't know why it couldn't be safely done at home. As far as the sauerkraut/fermenting discussion, I don't even like sauerkraut but I'm looking at crocks on Amazon. What the...???
If you like raw carrot sticks or a mix of veggies / apple or even a slice or two of orange in the mix @Beth Gallagher I’m not a real fan of cabbage either cooked or fermented. I bought a crock however I ended up selling it cause I found it to big for my needs. I only use my Quart size ball mason jars you can buy fermenting lids and plastic inserts for the BM jars to keep the food under the liquid ..or valves to let off the gasses while the foods still fermenting.
That's what I was thinking... more "pickled" stuff instead of sauerkraut. Carrots sound good. I was looking at the 2 liter crocks which is about 1/2 gallon. I wouldn't want any larger than that but I probably should just try experimenting with mason jars before investing in more "stuff."
I’ve got these pickle pipes that you squeeze to let the gasses off your fermenting veggies If you haven’t got them already you need the rings that screw into mason jars. https://countrytradingco.com.au/pro...rH_L8VEDGiXYBiNlqLyGngzUAeoDHJahoCaL4QAvD_BwE These are good ( I have them) to keep what ever your preserving under the water ….the food go’s yucky if it’s not under the liquid PHOTO ^^^^^ @Beth Gallagher
I saw a "starter kit" of the MasonTops pickle pipes on the cyber Monday sale for $39. It includes 4 of the plastic lids, 4 weights, a wooden tamper, and a recipe book for wide-mouth Mason jars. I can't figure out why those things are so expensive! Seems like all the canning/preserving supplies are much more costly than they used to be.
I bought mine separately, and do not think that I paid that much; however the price of everything has gone up now. More people are learning how to make their own foods , especially the probiotic ones like pickles and yogurt types of food. The little glass weights are wonderful, and I use those all the time, but do not always use the pickle pipe lids. The tamper is good for making sauerkraut, and I have a set (bowl and tamper) that i got at the Korean store, and mine are just plastic, but they help a lot with the cabbage tamping. If you are going to me making fermented foods, it is probably worth getting the set, and it will last forever. The guide and recipe book should be helpful, too. Also, the Kindle store has a lot of books for fermenting.
I still have all my canning stuff, thank goodness. I have been thinking about doing some canning again, maybe next summer. But I'm just "thinking". My mind always has great ideas but my body always puts a stop to it. But after seeing all the expensive nasty looking veggies in the store, I may have to can and freeze a few things again. I just can't believe how awful the so called fresh vegetables and fruit look in the store. I use to make yogurt all the time but I got lazy about that too.
I see that just the 4 pickle pipes are $21.99 on Amazon, so I ordered the starter kit. The prices on regular seals/lids is ridiculous now, too.