The Most Helpful Vegetable Fermentation Guide

Steps

▶ Tap a timecode to jump to roughly that moment in the video.

1. 1
   Understand the basics: vegetables, salt, and water combine to form a brine. Submerging vegetables in this brine creates an anaerobic environment where lactobacillus bacteria convert natural sugars into lactic acid, producing sourness and beneficial probiotics.
   ▶ ≈5:39
2. 2
   Decide your salt percentage, generally somewhere between 2% and 5% of total weight. Use a higher percentage for longer ferments or denser vegetables, and a lower percentage for softer vegetables (to keep crunch) or if you want more pronounced fermented flavor. Beginners may prefer a higher percentage for a safer margin.
   ▶ ≈6:41
3. 3
   Wash the vegetables and peel them if needed (recommended for store-bought produce), trim off any blemishes, then chop into bite-sized pieces as desired.
   ▶ ≈9:39
4. 4
   Zero out your scale with a clean jar on it, load in the chopped vegetables, cover them with water, and record the combined weight of vegetables plus water.
   ▶ ≈10:10
5. 5
   Multiply the total weight by your chosen salt percentage (e.g. 0.035) to calculate how much salt you need, weigh it out separately, and add it to the jar.
   ▶ ≈10:24
6. 6
   Put the lid on and shake the jar to help start dissolving the salt; it will fully dissolve naturally over time.
   ▶ ≈10:46
7. 7
   Place a glass fermentation weight on top to keep vegetables submerged and prevent mold from forming if they float above the brine. Seal with a one-way airlock lid to let CO2 escape without letting oxygen in; if using a standard sealed lid, remember to burp it periodically.
   ▶ ≈10:53
8. 8
   Store the jar away from direct sunlight at a temperature between roughly 60-75°F (about 15.5-24°C). Higher temperatures ferment faster but are harder to control, while lower temperatures ferment slower and are easier to manage.
   ▶ ≈11:44
9. 9
   Other vegetables can follow the same process: garlic scapes cut into small pieces fermented at roughly a 4% salt ratio; whole hakurei turnips fermented at roughly 4%; cleaned radish pods fermented at roughly 4%.
   ▶ ≈12:29
10. 10
    For sauerkraut, finely chop the cabbage, weigh it, and sprinkle on salt at about 2-3% of its weight. Massage the salt in by hand to draw out moisture and adjust texture to preference, then let it sit about an hour to see how much liquid is released. If there isn't enough liquid to cover the cabbage, add clean water along with a bit more salt to maintain the ratio.
    ▶ ≈13:27
11. 11
    In the first few days the vegetables may taste underdeveloped or slightly off since the lactic acid hasn't formed yet. At room temperature, flavor typically starts improving around day 5 and keeps getting better with more time — taste along the way to find your preferred fermentation length.
    ▶ ≈14:20