I realised how much fermented ingredients im using in my videos – i cant help myself as i loved them. But its not fair using them – showing off and not sharing the method of creating them.

So i decided to write a couple of posts of my ways of fermentation – if you will have the courage to try to make them. Its not atom physics – just couple of simple steps to follow and nature will do the rest.

footnote – i am doing my own crazy experiments and i always make sure to try them ‘on myself first’ before trying to poison anyone :) hahaha im joking. But i did read tonns of literature of fermenting from Noma, Sandor Katz and Pascal Baudar before i jumped innit…. ok thats a lie. I was creating already my bubbling jars while i started to read more and more. So these are great books – with huge amount of knowledge.

BUT If u dont want to know everything with EVERYTHING about the fermentation – if u just want to make some simple but outstanding delicious food – than u can follow my path as im not making anything giant. Nature does the main job anyway.

U can find billions of recipes online how to make sauerkraut – so i wont make u bored u with that. Thats the basic fermentation where everything starts. Let me talk you through very very f’ckin briefly what is this stuff.

U buy your vegetables in the shop. Leave them on the table and they will rot after a while. Its because of billions and billions of microorganisms everywhere – even on the surface of your tomatoes – and they are fighting with each other to survive. While a lot of them leads the death of your food (rot) some of them (Lactobacillus bacteria) helps your food to ‘survive’ by transforming into another form by fermentation. U can help this Lactobaby to kill the other ‘microorganism’ by simply adding salt. Your good bacteria can tolerate salt while the other bad boys will just vanishhhhh away. This is how simple is that.

Believe me or not – u just have to add salt any form to your food to preserve and ferment. Sauerkraut is happening cause u salt your cabbage – releases its juicies creating its own brine with your added salt. And Lactobaby is coming and take over creating gorgeous sour flavours and increases the shelflife of your cabbage. Magic happened.

First i show u a sauerkraut type of ferments. Here i fermented my proudly foraged mediterranean mustard. Its a tough cabbage with tough leaves so i ‘de-vein’ the center stems first and clean it properly – i found the plants in a safe place on the beach but u never know u know. (i added some extra sea-leeks – only because i had lots and i didnt want to waste)

First you add your salt and massage into your leaves – breaking the leaves so the salt can enter.*

*footnote: here i added a sponnful of chilli paste – only because i wanted to. U can play and add other flavourings like last time i used fermented jerk onions in my video – do u remember? Just add a small spoonful of jerk mix. Play with it.

Now u just leave it for a bit, massage again in a couple of minutes… it should be nice and wet in 10-15 min max. Just developed its own brine to ferment in.

Meanwhile i cook out a jar (sterilized) where i will ferment my mustard leaves.

Transfer your wet mix and close the jar. Close it for at least 10 days (i think 2 weeks is best) till the lacto fermentation is complete. Your brine will not cover the leaves fully – so u have to!!! shake your jar couple of times every day. Easy. U can hear sizzling sound – ITS GREAT! It means your baby is breathing.

After this active fermentation period feel free to open the jar and taste your creation – also place in the fridge from now on. It can age in the fridge for a very looooong time. Congratilation. You ve done your first ‘crazy shit’.

U can use this method for other vegetables like cabbages (sauerkraut), lettuce, fennel, onion, etc etc…only take into consideriation the size of your vegetables – might take longer time for a piece of onion (smells like cauliflower-fart party) than some thin leaves of lettuce to go through the lacto fermentation process.