Hey John! That sounds excellent! It is funny you mention Beets as this is one of my favorite crops and one that I planned on focusing a post on in the near future.
One time I made 100% lacto-fermented beet greens (like one would make sauerkraut, but with beet greens instead). It is called Gundruk and it is a traditional Nepalese food preservation technique to ferment dark leafy greens (such as swiss chard, kale etc). The fermented beet greens did not taste good at all! Such a potent earthy pungent flavor, very hard to eat at first. Though after eating a bit (and cringing at the potent flavor) I felt amazing! Then I began to crave it and so I like to make Gundruk with kale, beet greens and/or chard annually now in big batches. One of the ways Gundruk is traditionally used is to dry it and then sprinkle it into soups (kind of like Japanese people add Wakame to soups). I wonder how dried Gundruk would go in a Zuppa Toscana type soup? hmm something to try for the next batch, thanks for the inspiration! :)
I just saw in my notifications that you posted something interesting on your substack and tagged me, I look forward to checking it out :)
A tidbit for you. Girl at a very nice farm stand I frequent, they have greenhouses, told me that the reason Swiss chard looks and tastes like beet greens is that Swiss chard is a hybrid of beets. At least I think it's that way, wouldn't make much sense in the reverse.
The farmer I have been buying beets from says he throws a lot of greens out and I would be welcome to them. I love Swiss chard and they even look a lot like Swiss chard.
If I do get a bunch, might have to luck into them, I'll hit you up on how to ferment them.
Actually I'd like to learn how to make sauerkraut as well, he has nice cabbages.
Wow really?! I guess I should not be surprised as our farming industry is so wasteful. Well if those beets are organically grown (or grown without being sprayed with chemicals, even if they aren't technically labelled as "organic") that is a valuable nutrient dense resource worth tapping into for sure. If you do not ferment them you could also blanch and freeze whole leaves, juice and freeze in ice cube format (for adding to smoothies or soups etc) or dry and powderize for shelf stable storage.
I`ll also dig up the original recipe for Gundruk from The Art Of Fermentation and post a link to a picture of it on here for you incase you do end up wanting to go that route (and you want a more detailed step by step second version to cross reference for finding how you like to make it yourself).
Now sauerkraut I highly recommend, it is very easy to make and you can season it to your tastes easily (and/or add superfoods and powerful medicinal herbs to potentiate it's medicinal benefits if you so wish). I have a basic recipe for sauerkraut in my book (which you have a digital copy of) that offers a good starting point. If you do not own a traditional ceramic fermentation crock I suggest getting some glass fermentation weights (such as these: https://www.masontops.com/products/pickle-pebbles-plus ) and using 2 quart mason jars (as both those items are highly adaptable for other purposes.
Please let me know how your beet green preserving efforts go.
PS - I am not affiliated with the masontops company but I have found those weights are among the most durable, easy to use and versatile, so I suggested them. That being said, if you are on a budget, you can get inventive and use things like shot glasses or glass coasters as fermentation weights if you have those lying around (I have done that in the past and it works fine too).
Hey Gavin. I haven't managed to swing by there when the old guy is on. I do have a lovely red cabbage the size of my head that I have slated for sauerkraut. Any tips?
You`ll need coarse natural sea salt, a large heavy knife (or ideally, a Mandoline), mason jars, a shot glass, a large sturdy bowl or two (not metal, wood preferably) and a blunt tool you can use for bruising up the sliced cabbage (like a rolling pine without one of the handles, a pestle or other similar object). Cut the cabbage into 4 sections and then cut out the core/stem of the cabbage, reserve a few thick outer leaves, use 2-4 tablespoons of salt (depending on size of cabbage and temperature you ae fermenting at) slice the cabbage as thin as you can into ribbons, then massage a sprinkle of salt into the ribbons for a couple minutes and let it sit for a few more. Begin pounding the lightly salted cabbage ribbons (adding a bit more salt as you go) until they are glistening and you are able to squeeze a fist full of bruised salted cabbage ribbons and a stream of juice comes pouring out. At that point you are ready to add the bruised and salted cabbage to the jar (or other fermenting vessel). As you add it in layers, press down with your tool (or fist) to exclude all air from the bruised cabbage) until you are at about 3/4 full. Add the thick outer cabbage leave(s) and then the shot glass as a weight. If the juices are not submerging all the ingredients yet make a salt brine at 1 1/2 tsp of salt dissolved into 250 ml of water. Add the brine until all ingredients are submerged. Put the jar(s) in a dark place at room temp and if you are sealing the jars tight "burp" them daily (loosen the lids to release excess CO-2). Taste after it has bubbled away for at least 5 days and when you like the flavor put it into the fridge to slow fermentation and Enjoy! :) Hope this helps.
Hey Gavin. I prepared some beet greens about a week ago, tastes like Swiss chard. Looks like it too.
I served it the way I like to serve Swiss chard, fried in butter and topped with a steak.
Using beet greens all I lack is some chicken stock and potatoes to make this. Maybe I'll buy a chicken today.
Hey John! That sounds excellent! It is funny you mention Beets as this is one of my favorite crops and one that I planned on focusing a post on in the near future.
One time I made 100% lacto-fermented beet greens (like one would make sauerkraut, but with beet greens instead). It is called Gundruk and it is a traditional Nepalese food preservation technique to ferment dark leafy greens (such as swiss chard, kale etc). The fermented beet greens did not taste good at all! Such a potent earthy pungent flavor, very hard to eat at first. Though after eating a bit (and cringing at the potent flavor) I felt amazing! Then I began to crave it and so I like to make Gundruk with kale, beet greens and/or chard annually now in big batches. One of the ways Gundruk is traditionally used is to dry it and then sprinkle it into soups (kind of like Japanese people add Wakame to soups). I wonder how dried Gundruk would go in a Zuppa Toscana type soup? hmm something to try for the next batch, thanks for the inspiration! :)
I just saw in my notifications that you posted something interesting on your substack and tagged me, I look forward to checking it out :)
Thanks for the comment my friend.
A tidbit for you. Girl at a very nice farm stand I frequent, they have greenhouses, told me that the reason Swiss chard looks and tastes like beet greens is that Swiss chard is a hybrid of beets. At least I think it's that way, wouldn't make much sense in the reverse.
Bought some lovely green beans from them.
The farmer I have been buying beets from says he throws a lot of greens out and I would be welcome to them. I love Swiss chard and they even look a lot like Swiss chard.
If I do get a bunch, might have to luck into them, I'll hit you up on how to ferment them.
Actually I'd like to learn how to make sauerkraut as well, he has nice cabbages.
Here is a picture of the original recipe (from the book I mentioned in the other comment) which I used to formulate my various Gundruk creations:
https://archive.org/details/iawd-mg-0113
Wow really?! I guess I should not be surprised as our farming industry is so wasteful. Well if those beets are organically grown (or grown without being sprayed with chemicals, even if they aren't technically labelled as "organic") that is a valuable nutrient dense resource worth tapping into for sure. If you do not ferment them you could also blanch and freeze whole leaves, juice and freeze in ice cube format (for adding to smoothies or soups etc) or dry and powderize for shelf stable storage.
Here is a link to a basic description of Gundruk and how to make it: https://www.celestialroots.com/Gundruk.php
I`ll also dig up the original recipe for Gundruk from The Art Of Fermentation and post a link to a picture of it on here for you incase you do end up wanting to go that route (and you want a more detailed step by step second version to cross reference for finding how you like to make it yourself).
Now sauerkraut I highly recommend, it is very easy to make and you can season it to your tastes easily (and/or add superfoods and powerful medicinal herbs to potentiate it's medicinal benefits if you so wish). I have a basic recipe for sauerkraut in my book (which you have a digital copy of) that offers a good starting point. If you do not own a traditional ceramic fermentation crock I suggest getting some glass fermentation weights (such as these: https://www.masontops.com/products/pickle-pebbles-plus ) and using 2 quart mason jars (as both those items are highly adaptable for other purposes.
Please let me know how your beet green preserving efforts go.
PS - I am not affiliated with the masontops company but I have found those weights are among the most durable, easy to use and versatile, so I suggested them. That being said, if you are on a budget, you can get inventive and use things like shot glasses or glass coasters as fermentation weights if you have those lying around (I have done that in the past and it works fine too).
Hey Gavin. I haven't managed to swing by there when the old guy is on. I do have a lovely red cabbage the size of my head that I have slated for sauerkraut. Any tips?
You`ll need coarse natural sea salt, a large heavy knife (or ideally, a Mandoline), mason jars, a shot glass, a large sturdy bowl or two (not metal, wood preferably) and a blunt tool you can use for bruising up the sliced cabbage (like a rolling pine without one of the handles, a pestle or other similar object). Cut the cabbage into 4 sections and then cut out the core/stem of the cabbage, reserve a few thick outer leaves, use 2-4 tablespoons of salt (depending on size of cabbage and temperature you ae fermenting at) slice the cabbage as thin as you can into ribbons, then massage a sprinkle of salt into the ribbons for a couple minutes and let it sit for a few more. Begin pounding the lightly salted cabbage ribbons (adding a bit more salt as you go) until they are glistening and you are able to squeeze a fist full of bruised salted cabbage ribbons and a stream of juice comes pouring out. At that point you are ready to add the bruised and salted cabbage to the jar (or other fermenting vessel). As you add it in layers, press down with your tool (or fist) to exclude all air from the bruised cabbage) until you are at about 3/4 full. Add the thick outer cabbage leave(s) and then the shot glass as a weight. If the juices are not submerging all the ingredients yet make a salt brine at 1 1/2 tsp of salt dissolved into 250 ml of water. Add the brine until all ingredients are submerged. Put the jar(s) in a dark place at room temp and if you are sealing the jars tight "burp" them daily (loosen the lids to release excess CO-2). Taste after it has bubbled away for at least 5 days and when you like the flavor put it into the fridge to slow fermentation and Enjoy! :) Hope this helps.