Fermentation

The path

1. 1
   Level 1Free

   First Jars

   Sauerkraut and quick pickles

   14 Steps, about 27 minutes each. Total beginners with a kitchen counter. No special crocks or airlocks needed, just jars and salt.

   1. Chapter 1: Salt, safety and sauerkraut. Quick pickles in the fridge, the four safety rules learned, and a jar of sauerkraut bubbling on the counter.
   2. Chapter 2: Brine ferments. Finished sauerkraut, a jar of fermented carrots, deli-style pickles underway, and a pepper mash for hot sauce.
   3. Chapter 3: Kimchi, hot sauce and your own recipe. Kimchi, a bottle of your own hot sauce, a recipe you designed, and a shelf of ferments to share.

   1. 1
      Make quick fridge pickles

      A jar of quick pickles in your fridge, ready to eat in a day or two.

      Chef Amanda Freitag, 4:50NC State Extension
      Show your group
   2. 2
      Learn the safety rules

      Know the four rules that keep ferments safe, and have your salt and scale ready.

      Joshua Weissman, 6:35University of Illinois Extension
   3. 3
      Practice the 2% salt math

      Weigh a head of cabbage and work out exactly how much salt it needs.

      Yang's Nourishing Kitchen, 4:19Fermenting for Foodies

   See all 14 Steps

   1. 4
      Make your sauerkraut

      A quart jar of cabbage packed tight and fully under its own brine.

      Joshua Weissman, 5:33National Center for Home Food Preservation
   2. 5
      Check, burp and skim

      Your kraut checked: bubbling, under brine, and any white film skimmed off.

      Clean Food Living, 6:08Fermenting for Foodies
      Show your group
   3. 6
      Ferment carrot sticks in brine

      A jar of carrot sticks covered in a 2.5% salt brine.

      Clean Food Living, 13:12Fermenting for Foodies
   4. 7
      Taste and finish your kraut

      Your sauerkraut tasted, and moved to the fridge once it's sour enough for you.

      Leelalicious, 9:45National Center for Home Food Preservation
      Show your group
   5. 8
      Start fermented dill pickles

      A jar of whole or spear cucumbers fermenting in a dill-garlic brine.

      LifebyMikeG, 16:28National Center for Home Food Preservation
   6. 9
      Troubleshoot like a pro

      Every jar checked against the troubleshooting list, with any problem named.

      Homesteading Family, 9:57National Center for Home Food Preservation
   7. 10
      Start a pepper mash

      A jar of chopped hot peppers and garlic fermenting in brine.

      Joshua Weissman, 11:30Fermenting for Foodies
   8. 11
      Make a small batch of kimchi

      A jar of easy cut-cabbage kimchi packed and fermenting.

      Maangchi, 12:28Maangchi
   9. 12
      Blend your hot sauce

      Your fermented peppers blended into a bottle of hot sauce.

      Blooming Bayou, 7:21Chili Pepper Madness
   10. 13
       Design your own ferment

       A jar of your own recipe, with the vegetable and salt ratio chosen and calculated by you, without a video.

       Fermenting for Foodies
   11. 14
       Line up your fermentation shelf

       All your finished ferments lined up together, tasted and labeled.

       LifebyMikeG, 19:28National Center for Home Food Preservation
       Show your group
2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

   Kimchi

   A full batch of kimchi

3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

   Brewing

   Your own kombucha

Where it ends: a fridge full of ferments

Free lessons in First Jars come from Chef Amanda Freitag, NC State Extension, Joshua Weissman, University of Illinois Extension, Yang's Nourishing Kitchen, Fermenting for Foodies, National Center for Home Food Preservation, Clean Food Living, Leelalicious, LifebyMikeG, Homesteading Family, Maangchi, Blooming Bayou, Chili Pepper Madness. We link to their work and never copy it.