Recipe from Soil to Gut: How to Regenerate Your Health with Food by Lucy Williamson (5m Books, £24.99). Reproduced with permission. Photo credit: Georgina Valentine.
If you’ve never fermented anything before, start here. This easy sauerkraut-style ferment needs just white cabbage, carrots, an apple, a little fresh ginger and salt, and time does the rest. It’s bright, crunchy and tangy, and a spoonful livens up everything from a grain bowl to a sandwich.
Fermented vegetables are also a simple way to add variety to your plate. Every jar brings four different plants (cabbage, carrot, apple and ginger) – find out why eating 30 plants a week matters for your gut, and how to hit it with the best of the British autumn harvest.
Why You’ll Love This Fermented Vegetable Recipe
- Just five ingredients: cabbage, carrots, apple, ginger and sea salt.
- No special kit: a large bowl, a sharp knife and a clean glass jar are all you need.
- A little goes a long way: one batch makes about 1 litre, or around 30 servings of 2 tablespoons.
- Plant count 4: an easy boost towards your weekly 30.
Tips For Successful Fermenting
- Keep everything clean. Sterilise the jar and make sure your bowl, board and hands are spotless.
- Use non-iodised sea salt. Iodised salt can slow fermentation.
- Take your time with the salt. Spend around 15 minutes working it into the veg, pressing as you go, until everything is limp and full of liquid.
- Keep the veg submerged. Press it down firmly in the jar so it sits under its own brine, use a piece of cabbage stalk to hold it down, and leave 2–3cm of space at the top.
- Be patient. Leave the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 1–4 weeks. Start tasting after a week and move it to the fridge once it’s as tangy as you like.
What’s Normal (And What Isn’t)
Bubbles, a cloudy liquid and a sour smell are all signs your ferment is working. If you see fuzzy mould, pink or slimy veg, or it smells unpleasant, throw the whole batch away and start again.
How To Serve Fermented Vegetables
Add a spoonful to salads, a quinoa lunch bowl or a jacket potato, or pile it on to cheese and crackers. It also makes a lovely tangy side for the vegetable fritters with labneh, another recipe from the same book.
How Long Do Fermented Vegetables Keep?
Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge and eat within 4 weeks. Always use a clean spoon to serve, and keep the remaining veg pressed down under the liquid.
About Soil to Gut
This recipe comes from Soil to Gut: How to Regenerate Your Health with Food by Lucy Williamson, published by 5m Books (£24.99). As the title suggests, the book explores the link between how our food is grown and our own health, with recipes to put it into practice.
I hope you enjoy this homemade fermented vegetable recipe as much as I do. If you make it, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Homemade Fermented Vegetables
Equipment
Disclaimer: the equipment list above includes affiliate links to products I use and like.
Ingredients
- 500 g white cabbage
- 500 g carrots
- 1 red-skinned apple
- 2 Tbsp sea salt non-iodised
- 2 cm piece of root ginger 3/4 inch
Instructions
- Sterilise the jar: wash it in hot, soapy water, rinse, then put it in an oven heated to 140°C / 285°F for at least 10 minutes. Leave to cool completely. Make sure all your other equipment is very clean. Remove any jewellery you are wearing.
- Thinly slice the cabbage, carrots and apple, discarding the apple core.500 g white cabbage, 500 g carrots, 1 red-skinned apple
- Mix together in your large bowl with the salt. Press down well to release as much liquid as possible. This takes about 15 minutes working the salt into the veg, pressing as you go. You’re aiming for your shredded veg to be limp and easy to squeeze out its water. Add in the thinly sliced ginger.2 Tbsp sea salt, 2 cm piece of root ginger
- Transfer to the glass jar, a little at a time, pressing each addition into the jar so that its water keeps it submerged. Once all the veg is in the jar, ensure it is fully submerged under the liquid. You can use a piece of cabbage stalk to fill any space left between the veg mix and the lid so that once closed, this keeps the veg submerged. Leave about 2–3 cm of space at the top.
- Leave to ferment at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) for 1-4 weeks. Once opened, store in the fridge and enjoy within 4 weeks if it lasts this long!
- Start tasting after a week. When it’s as tangy as you like, move it to the fridge. Once opened, eat within 4 weeks.
Notes
- Serving size: this recipe makes 1 litre of fermented vegetables, or about 30 servings of 2 tablespoons each.
- Serve it: as a side with salads, a quinoa lunch bowl, a jacket potato, or cheese and crackers.
- What’s normal: bubbles, a cloudy liquid and a sour smell are all signs it’s working.
- When to throw it away: if you see fuzzy mould, pink or slimy veg, or it smells unpleasant, discard the whole batch.
- Salt: use non-iodised sea salt, as iodised salt can slow fermentation.
Nutritional Information
Find this recipe online:
https://theflexitarian.co.uk/recipe-items/homemade-fermented-vegetables/
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