Tonight I was treated to a demo and tasting of homemade kimchi and raspberry homebrew in a what felt almost like country revival for Lactobacillus. “You’ve changed my life!” exclaimed one  lady as she sampled the cabbage, bok choy, garlic-ginger-horseradish concoction offered from Jar 1. Jars 2 & 3 offered even more exotic combos of garden veggies–carrots, chard, burdock…

The seminar, held at Mother Earth Gardens in South MPLS, was put on by Russ Henry of Giving Tree Gardens. I was stunned to learn that making kraut and kimchi is not only easy, it’s delicious and excellent for your health.

Referring to his own Bible of wild fermentation, Russ showed us how, in just a few minutes, to reduce a head of cabbage to a tightly packed, lightly salted jar unit that could be “cooked” on top of the fridge in under a week.

Kimchi/kraut basic recipe

Chop your veg up (5 lbs cabbage, peppers, any other veg plus minced garlic/ginger/horseradish) and put it in a big bowl

Squish it a good with the bottom of a jar or your hands to break up the cell walls a bit, and then mix in 3 TBSP sea salt

Fill several clean glass or ceramic pint jars and then pack it down with your hands until it juices

When there’s a layer of juice on top to cover all the veg, put the lid on and put on top of fridge

Check daily for taste and to make sure the liquid covers the veg. Squish down more if needed to make more juice

Ready to eat in 3 days — or let it hang out longer for other flavors. Put in fridge when you like the way it tastes. It’ll keep there for a good long time.

The possible combinations are endless. But, simple as it was to learn, I recommend checking out the book yourself to make sure you understand the specifics. Then get thee to the altar of wild fermentation and enjoy!

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