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Northeast Grown, 100% organic, fermented & raw pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kvass, and hot sauce

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Home / Feature 3

Feature 3

Posted September 9, 2020 by Katie Korby

Ferment your own vegetables! Part 2: Developing Your Own Fermentation Recipes

Now that you’ve experimented with the basic recipes we shared in part 1, here are some ways to get creative and wow folks at your next neighborhood potluck!

Herbs and Spices

For both the brined and dry-salted method, a good guide is to use 1 Tbsp of fresh herbs or spices or 1 tsp of dried herbs or spices. For example, if you want to use fresh garlic and fresh ginger use a 1/2 Tbsp of each, for a total of 1 Tbsp fresh spices in the jar. Same goes for powdered spices or dried herbs: mix up as many spices as you like adding up to a total of 1 tsp/pint jar. Salt will stay the same at 1 1/2 tsp/pint jar.

 

Mix it Up!

For the brined method, consider adding whole fresh herbs to your jar, like flowering dill or whole peeled cloves of garlic. These flavors will infuse in the brine even if they aren’t chopped up. Plus, they look amazing! A mixed pickle with different vegetables, herbs, and spices is so easy and creates beautiful colors and fresh flavors.

For the dry-salted method, you can blend a wide variety of herbs and spices and vegetables. Try mixing chopped wild greens like dandelion or nettles (wear gloves!) into your krauts. Or experiment with making your own kimchi-style ferment with any number of ingredients like Napa cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, radishes, chives, scallions, garlic, ginger, or chile peppers.

 

Taste it!

Don’t wait until your ferments get going to taste them – you should taste your recipe when you are mixing all your ingredients together before packing it into the jar. Do you like the flavor? Could it use a little more of something? Add it! The flavors will meld and mellow during fermentation, but if you like how it tastes before it’s fermented then there’s a good chance you’ll like it when it’s finished too! Don’t worry if it tastes saltier than you’d like because the salty flavor will mellow too.

 

 
Extra Tips for Experimentation

Most veggies lend themselves quite well to fermenting, however there are a few we’d recommend taking extra care with. Onions and mushrooms don’t naturally have enough lactic acid bacteria to ferment well on their own. They are delicious when fermented with other veggies, like cucumbers with onions, or shredded cabbage with some thinly sliced mushrooms. You might also encounter veggies that seem like they would be delicious fermented but end up smelling so funky it’ll clear the room (asparagus!). Try mixing these in with other veggies for a more delicious result. Consider also that sometimes the smell of ferments is very different from the taste. If you are discouraged, say, by the sulfury smell from fermented onions, don’t give up on the ferment. Open it out on the porch and take a forkful – despite the smell, the taste could be delightful! Discovering what works and what you like to eat is part of the fun of home fermentation!

Download this worksheet to help organize your recipe!

 

Pint-Size Kraut Recipe Ideas

1) Red & Green: 8 oz. red cabbage, 8 oz. green cabbage, 1 1/2 tsp salt

2) Golden Kraut: 10 oz. green cabbage, 3 oz. carrot, 3 oz. beet, 1 1/2 tsp salt

3) Ginger Pink: 12 oz. green cabbage, 4 oz. beet, 1 Tbsp ginger, 1 1/2 tsp salt

4) What’s that Smell?: 12 oz. green cabbage, 2 oz. onion, 2 oz. carrot, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt

5) Simple Kraut: 16 oz. green cabbage, 1 tsp caraway, 1 1/2 tsp salt

Fermentation Resources and Inspiration

Create Your Own Small Batch Kraut Recipe (2023, Katie Korby)

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz (2012, Chelsea Green)

The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman (2012, Storey)

Fiery Ferments by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey (2017, Storey)

Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey (2014, Storey)

Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen by Leda Scheintaub (2014, Rizzoli)

Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson (2017, Storey)

How to Ferment Vegetables from CityHomesteads.com

Clay fermenting crocks:

https://www.claycrocks.com

https://www.dkaufmann.com

 

June 29, 2020

Small Batch Dilly Beans!

Organic Dilly Beans
Our newest small batch item for this year is a classic New England favorite. These beans are tender, crisp, and packed with fresh dill and garlic. Perfect for a mid-morning snack, packed in lunches, garnishing a happy hour cocktail, or chopped into a winter soup or dinner salad.  We can’t stop eating them, and we think you’ll love these dillies all day long!
We sourced the beans from Deep Meadow Farm on the banks of the Connecticut River in Ascutney, Vermont. We appreciate that they are committed to caring for both land and community, “As stewards of the land we grow food with an important focus on the health of the land as we support the health of our community.”
Look for Organic Dilly Beans at your local retailer or on our webstore.

June 20, 2019

100% Solar Powered!

Aerial view of solar array

We made new investments in renewable energy this year! In the fall, we installed a solar hot water system on the south side of our building with help from Spartan Solar based here in Greenfield. We saw instant reductions in our natural gas usage, and we look forward to the system providing all of our hot water in the summer. We hired our worker co-op neighbors PV Squared to install a 31 kW photovoltaic system on our flat roof. The array is made up of 2,000 square feet of panels and the generated power is shared between the two businesses, Real Pickles and PV Squared. Along with our original 17 kW array installed in 2011, Real Pickles will be once again 100% solar powered!

November 1, 2018

Real Pickles Partners with UMass Scientists to Study Facility Microbiome

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientists have mapped and characterized microbial populations at Real Pickles’ facility and report that its microbiome was distinct between production and fermentation areas and that the raw vegetables themselves – cabbages destined for sauerkraut – were the main source of fermentation-related microbes in production areas rather than handling or other environmental sources.  Read More

February 5, 2018

New Small Batch Line!

Real Pickles Small Batch 2018

Our first-annual Small Batch Line is just that: small batches of fermented vegetables! We’ve teamed up with our local farmers to bring you three delicious, fresh and seasonal recipes for 2018:  Spicy Carrot Escabeche, Shallot and Herb Kraut, and Hakurei Turnip with Dulse. Be sure to try them soon, as they won’t last long! Read More

December 21, 2017

Sustainable Business of the Year!

We are excited to announce that Real Pickles has been named the 2017 Western Massachusetts Sustainable Small Business of the Year by the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts! This award is presented to leading local independent businesses in Western and Eastern Massachusetts who are helping to build economies that are local, green and fair. We are proud to be recognized for doing work that is so central to our mission of helping to build a more sustainable food system! Read More

February 1, 2017

New Label Design!

Side by side comparison of the old Real Pickles Label an the new label

We are so excited to announce that starting this month our jars are sporting a brand new label design! As we begin our 17th year, we celebrate our deep commitment to the values on which Real Pickles was founded. We think our new labels reflect the mission that drives us every day to build a better food system. With our transition to a worker co-op four years ago, we ensured that our mission would be protected for the long term – that our business would continue its work in support of healthy food, a resilient regional food system, and vibrant local and democratic economies for many years to come. With three new worker owners this year, our mission is going strong! So look out for our rainbow of new labels at your local store, and let’s all continue to work together to help build a better food system! #PackedWithAMission

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Real Pickles production alum Aliza came home from Real Pickles production alum Aliza came home from college for a weekend of Garlic & Arts! She is serving up ferments with Derek all day at the 25th annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival in Orange, Ma. The weather has cleared up, the music sounds great and there is so much fun to be had! Come say hello and grab a Garlic Dill pickle! 
@nqgarlicandartsfestival #garlicandarts #RealPickles
Can't wait to see you this weekend at the 25th Ann Can't wait to see you this weekend at the 25th Annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival! Come say hello and get a Garlic Dill pickle! Rain or shine! #RealPickles #GarlicAndArts #FermentedAndRaw @nqgarlicandartsfestival
Honeypie in Jamaica Vermont is definitely one of t Honeypie in Jamaica Vermont is definitely one of the Green Mountain state's coolest and most delicious spots to eat!  Honeypie is a modern fresh take on a roadside burger joint. They are committed to sourcing their ingredients locally and sustainably and serving good, honest fast food in a beautifully updated, old roadside gas station. Check out their burgers, sandwiches and salads served with Real Pickles Organic Kimchi! 

#RealPickles #RealPicklesServedHere #FermentedAndRaw @eatathoneypie
We are so excited to reveal the newest colors of o We are so excited to reveal the newest colors of our trucker hats and our new sleeveless t-shirt! These beauties are locally printed and embroidered by our friends at @onewayscreenprinting in Hadley, MA. We have also updated stock on all of our colorful t-shirts and sizes available for most everyone. Head over to our webstore to take a look, or come see us at the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival next weekend and get a discounted festival price on your favorite! 
#RealPickles #FermentedAndRaw @onewayscreenprinting
Check out these gorgeous paprika and habanero pepp Check out these gorgeous paprika and habanero peppers, grown for us by Ray at Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. Their land sits within the famed Hadley loam region (world class soil!), in the rich bottomland of the Connecticut River Valley. Next Barn Over Farm grows a wide and diverse array of certified-organic vegetables for CSA, farmers markets, local grocery stores, small distributors, and restaurants in Western Massachusetts and throughout the Commonwealth. This year their crops will be used in making the next batches of our Organic Red Pepper Hot Sauce, Organic Beets, and Organic Kimchi! #loveyourlocalfarmer #knowyourfarmer #supportyourlocalfarms
Studies show that including lots of fermented food Studies show that including lots of fermented foods in your diet, including naturally-fermented vegetables, contributes to higher gut microbiome diversity and improved immune response. What a great reason to pile some Real Pickles ferments on your avocado toast! 

#RealPickles #fermented #avocadotoast #kraut #pickles #organic

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