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Thanks both.

Now that cabbage is in season where I am, I want to try to follow your method for fermenting cabbage, Lola.  I watched a few videos on youtube, but they make it sound much more complicated than you do.  

If I understand it right, you just chop your cabbage (or whatever), place it in a bowl with the salt, cover with cloth, let it sit, stirring each day until you feel it is done. At that time, place it in a container, seal it and put into the refridgerator.  This way appeals to me because it sounds so easy.

After watching the videos I had a couple of questions.  Do you cover the cut cabbage with cabbage leaves or anything else, then weigh it down?  They all seemed to place great emphasis on that. Do you pound your cabbage to extract water before putting it into the bowl? Does it need to be covered in water if I can't crush enough water out of it?

Also, I don't have a stainless steel bowl.  I just put mine into a white glass pyrex bowl.

I just chopped my first head, put it into the bowl, layering a little cabbage with a little salt and covered the bowl with cheese cloth.  Is that it?  

if you let your processor pulse the cabbage, it lets out quite a bit of liquid

this, plus the added salt and pounding some weight on the whole thing, brings out yet more juices.....enough to cover the batch.....I have never had to add more liquid of any kind to my veggies......

If you do add any liquid to fermenting veggies, it should be salt water (brine) ,not pure water. The point of the salt is to inhibit the growth of unhealthy organisms- the "good germs" grow just fine in salty water while the "bad germs" don't. So pure water at the top of the veggies may result in the top layer getting moldy instead of fermenting nicely.

From what I've heard, the food processing, or pounding, or kneading is an important step in breaking down the cell walls of the vegetables and bringing out the natural juices.  It's not enough to just put the vegetables into a bowl with the salt.

From what I've read, the crushing and pounding helps speed up the process. If the pieces are bigger and just layered with salt, it will probably still work but take longer. It should also be stirred up so the salt is well mixed into the vegetables.

Quoted from Chloe

I stuff my vegetables into an old pickle jar, cover it with the lid and leave it alone for 3 days. Nothing fancy....no special technique.

How does the wild bacteria work if you cover the jar? Is it already in the vegetables?

Some wild bacteria are already on the vegetables. Some are already in the jar. Many get into the veggie mixture while you're working with it, mixing it up, etc.

I do not cover my stash of ferments to be, until they re ready, 5 to 6 days max, then I jar them and stick in the fridge......

Thanks Rex and Ruthiegirl- now I understand fully that Bubby means Grandma!  

Yesterday I chopped my cabbage small and crushed it, one quarter of the head at a time.  I didn't get much water.  I put it into a bowl with some salt at each quarter of a head.  I put a little more salt on the top.  I just covered the bowl with cheese cloth.  There still was not much water.  I stirred it this morning.  A little more water, not much.  

I had been under the impression that I would have a lot more water and if I didn't, I needed to add some (with salt, of course).  

Would it be too late to add water or is it even necessary?  I just don't want to grow any bad germs.  All of the cabbage has salt but does not have water.  

Did you knead it with your clean hands? That's the way to get the water out of the vegetables.

No, Drea.  I pounded, crushed it with the end of my ice cream scooper.  I will try kneading it with my hands next time.  Thank you for the tip.

There's a good video on youtube.com by Sandor Katz, the guy who wrote Wild Fermentation.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i77hU3zR-fQ

another
http://www.naturalnews.com/027443_vegetables_health_food.html

A week ago I made the first batch of cultured beetroots - the first time in my life I prepared any cultured vegetable, and I love it. I am very content, don't even blush... I read this thread, especially Lola's instructions, watched Mr. Sandor Katz' video, and followed: sliced the beets, salted lightly, squeezed and mixed, put in a ceramic jar, put a sealed full raki bottle (what do I keep it for, topically use as first aid against tummy aches mixed with olive oil) over it as a pound, covered with a kitchen cotton towel, later with a sheet of baking paper and left to decorate the counter. It turned out excellent. All my life beetroot has been a problem for me. My late mother, who was a marvelous cook, yet strong-headed, used to make a beetroot borscht which I simply detested. Other possibilities: salads and soups, I didn't  care for. This time, I thought, I've found my personal solution - proved true! I truly enjoy it this way.    I love pickles, and for almost 5 years now I don't touch them. The homemade way makes a tremendous difference. I nibble a few slices each morning - 'my' creation, yay!   Love it.

Yaeli!  

Thanks to Chloe's tips I finally made a jar of veggies last night. I hope it comes out.. I hope they're edible. Any tips is appreciated. I used a glass jar but I couldn't get much brine out of it after stuffing it in the jar and I added some water but..it still looked like it wasn't very covered.

If veggies isn´t very juicy - I sometimes add some water - that works well.
What kind of veggies did you use ?

It's OK to add water.  

Way to go!!!  I bet you'll love them.  Take it slow when you eat them. Don't just gobble tons of them up.  You may start to detox very heavily and feel awful.  At least, that's how it is for me.

What did you make?

I took broccoli slaw and used that. It is broccoli, carrots and a couple of shreds of cabbage.
But it was in the bag so it might have been dry to start with. Next time I'll chop fresh. I was in a hurry. Oh I'm glad it's ok to add water.  

What are cultured veggies  

I just made another batch (first time this year), thanks to your inspiration, Mayflowers . This version has thinly sliced turnips, ginger root, and garlic cloves, plus shredded carrots, and salt. My mixture didn't need any water; that came from the veggies themselves...Mayflowers, did you "massage" the slaw with salt before stuffing into the jar?

Cultured, or fermented, veggies are vegetables that are allowed to sit out at room temperature once they are covered in salt water. Sandor Katz explains it nicely HERE.