Fermented Kimchi, Salsa, and Pickles, Oh My!

Fermenting all of the leftover vegetables you have in your fridge.

Fermenting Like a Mad Woman

I can’t be stopped. Once you learn to make sauerkraut and the basics of fermenting, it’s so easy! I wanted to learn to make a bunch of fermented vegetables to capture the last of the veggies that were in season. I decided on Kimchi, Salsa, and Garlic Pickle Slices. Okay, so this was a lot to take on in one week, but it made for one heck of a homestead shelfie. It’s also a really cool way to use up extra produce you have before it goes bad. If you don’t have time to use up something, add salt, maybe some water and shove it in a jar. It is way easier than canning (I am still scared of canning. It will definitively be a future Homestead Challenge).

Kimchi Ingredients

First on my list was Kimchi. I got this recipe from my Fermented Vegetables book that I have been relying on. To any one of my Korean friends or readers, try not to judge me too hard. It turned out pretty good for my first attempt! My husband and I plan to eat it alongside some at-home Korean BBQ.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read privacy policy and disclosure statement here.

Kimchi Recipe

As you’ll see, the steps differ a little bit from sauerkraut. You must first soak the cabbage in salt water. If I had to do it again, I would do this step before bed and just let the cabbage soak overnight. You simply press all of the ingredients into a jar and add back some of the salt water brine to make sure the vegetables are covered. This makes A LOT! A large jar is best. I used a 64oz (half gallon) Ball jar, but a gallon jar might be even better. At first, mine was not very red. The red pepper flakes will darken the color pretty quickly and in a few days, it will start to look like traditional kimchi. I let mine ferment about two weeks before putting it into the fridge. This was honestly so easy, but I felt super accomplished once it was complete.

Fermented Tomatillo Salsa Ingredients

I’ll be honest here. The first time I made this (pictured at the bottom), my grocery store did not have tomatillos and I did not even know what tomatillos were. I just bought a mixed medley of heirloom tomatoes and made it that way. Honestly, I liked the heirloom ones better than the actual recipe. What it boils down to is… you can make this with whatever vegetables you like in your regular salsa. You really can’t screw it up.

Fermented Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

As you’ll see, this is more similar to sauerkraut in that there is no extra water needed. The tomatoes will create enough brine all on their own so there is no need to add more. I think we waited too long to try this one anf move it to the fridge, as it gets a very fermented taste that I was not used to in my regular salsa. I want to keep experimenting with this recipe and improving it to our taste. Having salsa on hand is an easy way to add a ferment to our weekly Taco Tuesdays (and there is an added bonus in that I won’t have to make fresh pico de gallo every week if I make this in a big batch).

Garlic Pickle Ingredients

Warning! The garlic doesn’t lie. This is for serious garlic lovers only. To be fair, you can just take out the garlic from the recipe and you’d have regular pickles, but where’s the fun in that? These make an excellent burger topper and are very easy to make. These have been our most used ferment.

Garlic Pickle Recipe

Due to the added salt water brine, this recipe has a lot more liquid than the others. The cucumbers will be able to float around. I actually ended up leaving mine a lot longer than the recipe calls for (about two weeks). We are not cucumber fans in this household, so we wanted that taste completely gone. Just start tasting and move to the fridge once you get to your desired pickly taste.

More on Fermenting

I hope you have been enjoying all of the ferments. Once you get the hang of it, you can pretty much ferment any veggie you have on hand. Just add salt. If the vegetable does not make enough brine on its own, add salt water. Voila! You’re a fermenting expert!

Pin It For Later!

Printable Ferment Recipes