Trial Two: Vegetable Fermentation

Some sources online say that fermented foods are really good for you. Probiotics. Beneficial bacteria. Blah blah blah. Yogurt is the most commonly used example, but there are more...

According to wiki, the World Health Organization has classified them as possibly carcinogenic.

Before I started this blog, I tried to make a form of fermented vegetables. Failed. I don't know who's right with the fermented foods, but I'm all for trying them and seeing what happens. I always enjoyed eating sauerkraut in small quantities. I used to buy the cans, then the jars once I started avoiding canned foods.

My absolute favorite fermented vegetable experience is from a Mexican restaurant back home called Buchos. They have an amazing carrot and garlic appetizer zinger. Papa's Pizza and Buchos are the highlights of my dining experience when I go back home. The pleasure of eating those carrots at Buchos coexists with a sullen feeling of knowing I cannot reproduce the experience without them. Dependency. And Binging.

Outside dining experiences inspire me. I mimic what I like, adapting various versions of the recipe from online sources. Well, I thought pickled carrots would be simple.

For my first trial at pickled carrots (which took me a while to even find out that is what has been done to those Buchos carrots), I chopped up a bunch of carrots and garlic. Then, I covered them in white vinegar and threw them into the refrigerator. I waited a day or two. I don't remember how long exactly, but I do remember my patience running thin. I finally caved in, and ate chopped carrots with a coating of vinegar. It tasted okay. I enjoy vinegar on my veggies. But it surely didn't match up to restaurant experience.

So, tonight I'm trying again.

This time around, I'm only using salt water. I'm also not putting it into the refrigerator until after there are signs of fermentation: sour taste, popping, fizzing. From the blog I found this from, the girl says that should take about two to five days at room temperature. Then it stays in the refrigerator for another two or three days before eating. It lasts more than a month in the refrigerator. Yay.

Tonight is day one. Sometime between Sunday and Wednesday of this week I'll get to try my second attempt at pickle carrots, Buchos inspired.

I focused on fermented vegetables for this post mainly because I'm exited about this carrot recipe. But also because I'm on my dairy avoidance experiment with trying to figure out that weird skin reaction. So cheeses and yogurts are out for the time. The Asian fermented foods really don't look like something I want to stick into my mouth. Should always start with something you know you like. I already miss that Noosa yogurt. I've promised myself that I'm going to fix that allergic reaction. Odds are against me (lots of places online say allergies after the age of 20 tend to not be grown out of), but I'm hopeful.