Quick Ferments for Health and Culinary Delight: Purple Pickled Cabbage

This recipe is so easy and so delicious you will wonder how you ever lived without it. I stumbled upon it while gathering ingredients for Falafel Collard Wrap that @micheletrainer turned me onto (thanks Michele! delicioso!) and I’ll be posting the recipe for that. That's my very first batch up there in the picture.

You don’t need to sterilize the jars for lacto-fermented foods, just make sure that they are very clean.But, since the red pickled cabbage takes three days,a las but yes a mere three days, let us begin.

Ingredients: Cabbage, salt, water

Optional: Onion, garlic, caraway seeds (use your imagination)

• Cut the cabbage in half. Cut out the thick core and stem end.
• Thinly slice the cabbage into shreds or small pieces or chop anyway you like. I chop long pieces. I like chopped onions and -
  minced garlic.
• Loosely pack the sliced cabbage and other ingredients as you fill the jars.
• Make a brine by dissolving the salt in the water. I use sea salt. Kosher salt is fine. I’ve never tried table salt, could work. One
  tablespoon salt per four cups water.

Pour the salt brine over the cabbage and spices. Gently press down on the cabbage and spices to release any air bubbles and to submerge them in the brine.

Cover the jar loosely with a lid (see my pic above). Place a plate under the jar to catch any suds that may leak out once active fermentation gets going and it starts bubbling.

Leave the jars at room temperature for 3 days. While waiting, check at least once a day and check to see that the vegetables are still submerged in the brine (add additional salt brine if necessary) and that no mold is forming. Mold usually starts after the three days, it if does it's fine just scrape it off..

By the end of the three days, the purple pickled cabbage should have a clean, lightly sour smell and taste.

Refrigerate.

Keeps well in the fridge for three months but I’m sure you’ll have it eaten up by then and onto new batches...Enjoy!

What do you think? Have you ever tried fermenting?

@soulsistashakti is a musical artist and writer based in NYC. You can check out my music on my FB artist page at https://www.facebook.com/soulsistashakti