Cultured Living

FIFA World Cup has started and so I decided to make a Mexican inspired kimchi following the normal method of making kimchi but the ingredients were slightly different.

Someone once described making kimchi as ‘chaos’ fermenting and it is a bit like that, especially when using different ingredients to normal. For that reason it is actually a good idea to taste the mix before jarring your kimchi as you can then adjust ingredients as you see fit.

The ingredients in my kimchi are:

Chinese Cabbage (aka Napa or Wombok)
Jicama (known as yam bean in Australia)
Pineapple
Daikon
Purple onion
I meant to add carrot but forgot 🤔

Paste Ingredients:
Glutinous rice flour cooked into a paste with the liquid from the rehydrated chillies
Ginger - not really used much in Mexican cooking apparently but I thought it would be a good addition
Rehydrated dried chillies (Anchos and Guajillo)
Garlic
Cumin seed
Lime zest
Crushed chilli flakes - added after tasting the mix

Hopefully I’ve got the balance of ingredients right here - look forward to tasting in a couple of weeks. My kimchi will go into the fridge after a week and then ‘mature’ a bit in the fridge before we eat it.

🇲🇽🌮 #🏟️⚽️

My jerusalem anrtichokes are ready for harvesting. I’ve been advised, however, that they don’t keep well once dug up. My plan therefore is to only harvest as required for the time being although they can’t stay in the ground for too long as they’ll probably rot during our wet winter.

I would, however, like to be able to enjoy homegrown Jerusalem artichokes later in the year and not have to eat them all in the next two months. So I am going to experiment with fermenting/preserving some. My plan is for a very short ferment before refrigeration to help retain the crunch and not to alter the flavour too much.

Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) are exceptionally rich in Inulin, a type of soluble fibre than humans can’t digest well. It therefore reaches the colon intact where it acts as a prebiotic fuel source for beneficial microbes like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. Inulin is beneficial as it promotes bowel regularity, helps calm inflammation and can improve the health of the gut lining. Because Inulin is fermented slowly in the gut it has a low glycemic impact and won’t cause blood sugar spikes.
However, the high Inulin content can cause significant gas, bloating and discomfort in some people. Fermenting the artichokes can make them easier to digest so sounds like fermenting artichokes is the way to go as it will both preserve them and make them easier to digest.
Another idea for your excess Jerusalem artichokes is to make miso with them. I did this last year and found that they make an excellent miso.

Fermented turnip (Sauerruben in German) …….with some beetroot for colouring.

Fermented turnips are a potent probiotic food that enhance digestion, boost immunity, and provide high levels of antioxidants like Vitamin C, often surpassing raw turnips in nutritional value. The lacto-fermentation process increases beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus), supports gut health, aids in weight management due to low calories, and increases the bioavailability of minerals.

I couldn’t walk past turnips at $2.99/kg…..one of the benefits of fermenting vegetables is that it is a method of preserving vegetables when they are cheap and in season. With the current situation regarding fuel and fertilisers vegetable prices are likely to rise - so it is not a bad idea to get fermenting and stock up.