Pickled Pink Salad
I found an interesting apparatus for making cultured vegetables called a Perfect Pickler. It takes four days to make a batch, and my first effort will be ready to eat today. I made a lovely pink salad mix with red and green cabbage, sliced carrots, seasoned with dill and juniper berries.
The pickle jar basically provides a closed environment with a laboratory gadget on top that allows the pressure in the jar to vary so you don’t have juice all over the counter. The recipes that come with the unit are all for salt brine pickles. But I wanted to make a salt-free culture like the ones I’ve been getting at the healthfood store that contain only vegetables and a probiotic starter. I found some helpful information on the Body Ecology website, which also sells some very expensive commercial starter.
I decided to compromise on the starter. I went down to Greenstar to see if I could find a probiotic supplement with a bacteria mix similar to the commercial starter. The key bacterium I found on all the ready-made veggie cultures was Lactobacillus plantarum. There was only one product with plantarum in it: PB 8 made by Nutrition Now—60 capsules for about $15.00.
I used one cap this time, but think I might use two next time, just for kicks. That means my starter cost is 50 cents per batch, instead of the $3.82 I would pay for the special starter. When I’ve used up the bottle of pills, I plan to start saving a bit of the brine from each batch as a starter for the next batch. Then I won’t be paying any extra for starter at all.
Of course, I don’t have any way of actually testing my product to know how the bacterial composition might differ from stuff that’s made with the commercial starter. My veggies do already smell and taste delicious, without any sign of spoilage or other badness, and I guess that’s good enough for me at this point.
Pickled Pink Salad
5 cups filtered water
2 capsules PB 8 probiotic supplement, (empty powder into water and discard capsules)
1/2 medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced on the mandoline
1/2 medium head red cabbage, thinly sliced on the mandoline
3 large carrots, thinly sliced on the mandoline
small handful of fresh dill
1 Tbs Juniper berriesFollow directions for Perfect Pickler.
Note: I didn’t pound the cabbage, but probably should have.
April 1st, 2006 at 1:51 am
What, if anything, is this eaten with/how is this used?
April 1st, 2006 at 10:20 am
I’ve been using these as a condiment, the same way one would use pickles. They’re a good palate cleanser, which means that taking a bite of cultured veggies occassionally throughout the meal keeps the tastebuds alert and enhances enjoyment of flavors of the heavier foods on the plate.
They can be added to tossed salad for some added zing, or tucked into a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and avocado. Or, strategically place a small spoonful alongside the rest of the food on your dinner plates for color/texture/taste contrast.
I often snack on them in the kitchen while I fix dinner. In fact, eating a few cultured veggies before meals is one of the most healthful ways to use them, because the lactic acid and natural enzymes prep stomach juices for better digestion.
They’re kind of habit forming, actually!
December 12th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I am just starting on the veg fermentation but I have been making kefir for some time. Souldn’t I just use some kefir whey and reduce or eliminate the salt? I suspect it would result is less crisp vegetables.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
Hi Brent,
I think the kefir starter should work. The kefir cultures I’ve seen don’t have Lactobacillus plantarum, which is in all the vegetable culture starters. I’m not sure how important that is, though. Donna Gates does give a little helpful advice in her article, Which Fermented Food Starter Should You Use for What?
I don’t use any salt at all in my culture. So you should be fine there.
Let me know how your project goes!