Jicama and Asian pear have very similar textures. Asian pear is very crisp and delicious in kimchee. It is cut up into french fry sized matchsticks. I thought the jicama would turn out like the pears.

I'm really enjoying the cultured/fermented beets and ginger, though the texture is not quite right. The beets were shredded, julienned, and sliced, and I can't figure out which I like the best. They are still firm, though, so that's good.

I like my fermented veg to be as crisp as possible, think I will pass on the polyflora if it makes them real soft.

Korean daikon radish kimchee gets slightly soft but you still need to bite into them even a month after it's been made. They are about 1/2 in to 3/4 inch cubes so they are bite sized. They pretty much retain their texture after being fermented.

Drea, kimchee/fermenting really has a learning curve. I am experimenting, too. Luckily, my cabbage kimchee turned out perfect each time. It sounds like your ferments are really really scrumptious! So, the texture may be slightly off but no big deal. There is always next time! You are becoming a fermentation queen!!!

Quoted from honeybee

I like my fermented veg to be as crisp as possible, think I will pass on the polyflora if it makes them real soft.

I used two polyflora's for one quart jar of beets and ginger. The softness was equivalent to canned sauerkraut (don't ask me how I know how that tastes ). If there's a next time, I'm going with just one polyflora, though I like the ferments with just salt.

Quoted from passionprincess

You are becoming a fermentation queen!!!

What I'm finding amazing is that vegetables that normally would make me burp or give me
lots of bloat or gas are completely and totally digestible when fermented. I'm eating chunks of fermented garlic, onions, ginger and my belly is so happy. If I ate these same foods raw, I'd
be feeling awful.

I've got jars all over the place right now...various combinations of vegetables.  At this point, I'd
give up most cooked vegetables and just live on fermented ones.  From the time I was a child,
my favorite food was always sauerkraut.....although the type I was eating probably did me no good.
My body has always craved the taste of pickles and sauerkraut.

Has anyone ever tried to make their own pickles?  I'm thinking cucumbers, dill, salt, garlic, water....Anything else?

Quoted from Chloe

Has anyone ever tried to make their own pickles?  I'm thinking cucumbers, dill, salt, garlic, water....Anything else?

I don't see why not.  There are brine pickles available in our natural food stores.

Quoted from Chloe

I've got jars all over the place right now...various combinations of vegetables.  At this point, I'd give up most cooked vegetables and just live on fermented ones.

Fermented veggies would be great all the time in the Spring/Summer. Nice and chilled from the fridge!

My poor red cabbage, jicama, and carrot is about to go down the disposal.  It keeps getting mold on it, and it's just not moving along.  I think it would be best to just start fresh, even if it does mean throwing away all that food!

Quoted from TJ

My poor red cabbage, jicama, and carrot is about to go down the disposal.  It keeps getting mold on it, and it's just not moving along.  I think it would be best to just start fresh, even if it does mean throwing away all that food!

Were your veggies pushed down way below the liquid line?

I've never had a mold problem on mine and sometimes I've fermented for 4 days.  Was your jar
lid on tight?

I'm also wondering if there was mold on the veggies prior to chopping them....You can always
do a light veggie soak where you add a cap full of Clorox to a sink full of water for 30 minutes, prior to chopping and squishing them with salt.

I've decided that I just don't like fermented jicama. I love it raw, though! My batch of jicama and carrot is going into the compost. I won't eat it.

I've never had jicama.  I think I can.  I need to try it.  

Quoted from Chloe

Were your veggies pushed down way below the liquid line?

That is part of the problem.  They kept floating up out of the liquid.  I think the jicama may have been absorbing some of it, too.  The lid is definitely not tight, and can't be on this jar.  Next time, I'm going to lay a paper towel over the top like I did when I first tried fermenting.

You can add water to the top if there's not enough liquid...

If you brine it for a long time, it will not get moldy. You can always weigh down the veggies that float up with a plate or bowl inside your container. I use an inverted plate to push my veggies down because I am using a lidded casserole dish instead of a jar. It is fermenting nicely.

Chloe: On tomatillos - I would give anything to be able to eat that!!! It is an avoid on GTD. I hope to get SWAMIed in the near future but I doubt that I can have tomatillos. It has a slightly smoky flavor when compared to tomatoes. It is what they use to make green salsa (salsa verde) - tomatillo, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and chile. I used to love tomatoes as a child but when I discovered tomatillo, I left my former lover behind. You have to try it! It is an acquired taste but the salsa is amazing. I used to even use that stuff as pasta sauce!

Quoted from passionprincess

Chloe: On tomatillos - I would give anything to be able to eat that!!! It is an avoid on GTD. I hope to get SWAMIed in the near future but I doubt that I can have tomatillos. It has a slightly smoky flavor when compared to tomatoes. It is what they use to make green salsa (salsa verde) - tomatillo, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and chile. I used to love tomatoes as a child but when I discovered tomatillo, I left my former lover behind. You have to try it! It is an acquired taste but the salsa is amazing. I used to even use that stuff as pasta sauce!

Thanks PP for the tomatillo info....Can eat everything on that list for making salsa verde except
chiles.  What on earth could I sub?

By the way, I made my cucumber, cauliflower, celery, and carrot fermentation. I just threw in some thyme, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves into kefir whey and unpasteurized sweet apple cider.

I brined the veggies for a good 18-24 hours because I was purging from the cleanse and did not have the energy to mix the veggies. I was also strapped for space so I had to split the veggies into two containers.

Well, the cucumbers taste like dill pickles, almost because they are fermented. All the veggies in this mix are crisp but have a tangy fermented flavor to them.

Maybe use a tiny bit of horseradish or some other spicy spice?

Quoted from Chloe

Thanks PP for the tomatillo info....Can eat everything on that list for making salsa verde except
chiles.  What on earth could I sub?

Quoted from TJ

That is part of the problem.  They kept floating up out of the liquid.  I think the jicama may have been absorbing some of it, too.  The lid is definitely not tight, and can't be on this jar.  Next time, I'm going to lay a paper towel over the top like I did when I first tried fermenting.

When you closed the jar lid, was there about an inch of liquid on top of the veggies?
Because if there is too much liquid when you start and not enough solids, without a tight lid, I'm
thinking the fermentation process which can be quite bubbly, it might have forced your solids
to propel upwards.  I've never had this happen because I keep forcing the veggies to become
tightly packed into my jar....and about an inch liquid goes all the way to the top of the rim...and then I tightly screw on the lid.  Nothing moves around at all.

Quoted from passionprincess

Maybe use a tiny bit of horseradish or some other spicy spice?

Horseradish...great idea....and I too made a fermentation mixture using very fresh crunch kirby cucumbers which came out tasting really awesome.  Adding garlic and ginger made me eat nearly 1/2 a jar in one sitting.

I put a small saucer in the jar on top of the veggies, and that helped somewhat, but not enough.  Guess I need to put a big rock on the saucer.  I used a potato masher to squash down the veggies and push out the bubbles as they formed, but it just wasn't enough.

Horseradish scares me because it is so spicy, though. So use with caution.

I also threw in onions into my veggie mix. I like fermented cucumbers better because it is not as soft and mushy like pickles where they often boil the cucumbers before pickling!

Quoted from Chloe

Horseradish...great idea....and I too made a fermentation mixture using very fresh crunch kirby cucumbers which came out tasting really awesome.  Adding garlic and ginger made me eat nearly 1/2 a jar in one sitting.

I've decided not to toss the carrot/jicama fermented veggies, but just eat them. I've figured out why I don't like the taste...it tastes like old ice cubes. But the veggies are crunchy and sour, and I know they are good for me. I just won't make that combo again.

Quoted from TJ

I put a small saucer in the jar on top of the veggies, and that helped somewhat, but not enough.  Guess I need to put a big rock on the saucer.  I used a potato masher to squash down the veggies and push out the bubbles as they formed, but it just wasn't enough.

How large is this container you're using to ferment your veggies?  It's glass or ceramic, right?

My best results come from using quart or pint sized jars.  You used a potato masher to initially
get your veggies to release their liquid?  I get great results by squishing them for about 5
minutes with my hands.