Fermentation #8 – Radishes
Those tiny and colorful bunches of radishes always looks so pretty at the farmer’s market and I decided to try fermenting some!
Walking through the farmers market in the Spring time is always a joy with so much going on week to week and new produce being added to the mix. For weeks there had been these tiny bunches of colorful radishes that always remind me of something I’d seen in fairy tales and I decided to try fermenting them.
I’d actually fermented daikon radishes a number of times and used them in kimchi and other mixed ferments (including this very old reel). However, I had never fermented such a small radish and was curious to see how they would hold up in brine.
For accompaniments we are going with some dried Wild Brasil peppers that I found at the farmer’s marker. They’re supposed to have a medium(ish) heat level and fruiter notes but feel free to use your pepper of choice. They also had some dried ramp powder that I decided to add along with some ginger and turmeric powder. Since ramp powder is not very accessible please feel free to substitute it with some green onion (or even just plain onion powder if you prefer).
I’m also using a 2% salt brine for this ferment. I had always defaulted to 3% but have been enjoying the slightly lighter brine more and more recently.
These turned out kind of wild and basically became these little fermentation juice bombs when eaten whole. It’s a fun bite for sure, however a more practical use is probably slicing them down thin to add as a garnish for dishes (sandwiches/toasts seem like a great fit). I also want to note that this one took a bit longer to get to my desired level of ‘funk’ (closer to a full week of fermenting) and also didn’t have nearly as much gassing/carbonation as many of my other ferments. I think that this is probably because the seal was not quite air tight but I always wonder if there is more to it (happy to hear thoughts in the comments if you have them).
I always say this with fermentation, but you can really use any herb or spice that you like and can even use more acidic ingredients like lemon peels or ingredients like fresh grated ginger. Go wild, have fun and try different things.
Cheers,
Joey
Youtube Video:
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Full Recipe:
Ingredients
Method
- Place your fermentation vessel on a kitchen scale and zero out the weight. Combine radishes, dried peppers, ramp powder, ginger powder and turmeric powder into your fermentation vessel. Fill the vessel with water, covering all of the ingredients. Leave 1-2 inches of space at the top for the fermentation weight if using, and also for the pressure build up.
- Add 2% salt by weight. Meaning, if the weight of all of the ingredients in the step above is 2000 grams, you would add 40 grams of salt to the vessel. Close the vessel and move it around to dissolve all of the salt.
- Once dissolved, open the vessel and use a fermentation weight or even just a piece of paper towel over the surface of the mixture to ensure that everything is submerged in liquid before sealing.
- Place the vessel in a darker area out of any direct sunlight and allow 3-7 days to ferment. Make sure to check on it at least once per day to relieve any pressure build up (if not using a pressure airlock). This pressure build up also indicates that fermentation is fully taking place.
