Let's Keep Fermenting
Ukrainian Fermented Cabbage Recipe
Hi Friends! I have one 6-inch regular ($30) Burnt Basque Cheesecake available for pick up today, Tuesday, March 5th or Wednesday, March 6th. Text me at 614-975-1712 to secure the order.
Growing up in Mariupol, my grandparents fermented and preserved all kinds of goodies. My paternal grandfather especially loved growing and fermenting grapes—making natural homemade wine and a type of grape spirit.
Grape vines covered our whole front yard and all along the sides of the house, giving us not only delicious grapes but also perfect coverage from the summer heat. We used to eat outside a lot during the spring and summer months, a practice that’s common among many Ukrainian families. It is undeniable that food tastes better outside.
My grandfather’s love for fermentation passed on to my dad and from my dad to me. You won’t find my dad in the kitchen next to a stove, but you will find him tinkering with his ferments. The first ferment my dad and I made together was Ukrainian sauerkraut or kvashena kapusta (квашена капуста).
My dad can be very particular. In the case of fermented cabbage, he always stresses that the cabbage needs to retain some of its crispy texture. I remember being so nervous watching him try our first batch of sauerkraut. I wanted so badly for him to like it. After taking one bite, my dad proclaimed, “Great texture!” and continued eating. That was enough for me to know that my kvashena kapusta met his expectations and can be considered a success. I will never forget that day. Once the cabbage was ready, I made him his favorite fried pyrizhki with sauerkraut.
Over the last decade or so my father and I continued to bond over our shared love for fermentation. One summer, I flew to Barcelona with some of my rye starter so that my dad and I could make kvas together. Another time I visited, I brought my dad some of my dairy kefir grains and showed my dad how to make kefir. Don’t ask me how I managed to get those through airport security.
My dad fell in love with the kefir making process and he now makes a fresh batch of kefir every couple of days. It’s as much part of his daily routine as it is mine. Whenever I think of my dad making kefir, I feel immediately close to him. I like to think that it’s also a way for him to feel close to me when I’m far away.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
Ukrainian Fermented Cabbage/ Kvashena Kapusta / Квашена капуста
I’m so excited to share with you all one of my favorite fermented Ukrainian foods in this week’s newsletter. Ukrainians eat a lot of sauerkraut or fermented cabbage. It is incredibly popular as a side dish or salad but it’s also a very common ingredient in soups such as Kapusniak and as a filling in varenyky, pyrizhki, pies, etc. I can’t wait to share some of these fermented cabbage recipes with you all! The addition of carrots is a characteristic feature of Ukrainian/Baltic fermented cabbage. Some think that the sugar in the carrots were added to help the lactic acid bacteria to thrive in the cold weather.
Let’s dive in!
Pro Tip: I like to remove some of the outer large leaves of the cabbage before cutting the cabbage into quarters. Quartering the cabbage allows me to easily cut out the tough core of the cabbage and trim any of the large tough ribs before thinly slicing or shredding the cabbage on a mandolin. You can use the large cabbage leaves to cover the top of the fermented cabbage. This is especially useful if you decide to use a wider vessel for the fermentation process.
Equipment:
51 oz or 1.5 liter glass jar (I like the Kilner® 51 Oz Round Clip Top Jar)
large mixing bowl or clean countertop
sandwich bag or small clean jar full of water to weigh down the cabbage
Ingredients:
1 kilo green/white cabbage, finely sliced or shredded with a Mandolin
100 grams carrot, grated
20 grams kosher salt
10 grams sugar (optional) (accelerates fermentation)
Pro Tip: Salt needs to be between 2% to 2.2% of the weight of prepared cabbage
Method 1:
In a very large mixing bowl or on a clean countertop combine the cabbage, carrots, salt and sugar. You want to gently mix the ingredients with your hands. Using your hands softly massage and press the cabbage mixture to slightly soften it and allow it to release its juices, about 3 minutes.
Now pack the cabbage and carrot mixture very tightly in a jar or earthenware pot. Packing the cabbage tightly will help release the liquid that should cover the cabbage completely creating an anaerobic environment.
Cover the surface with a reserved cabbage leaf and weigh it down with a water-filled jar or water-filled sandwich bag, then cover with a coffee filter or a couple layers of cheesecloth.
Leave your cabbage at room temperature to ferment for approximately 4 days. *The longer you leave the cabbage to ferment at room temperature the more sour it will get.
Every day pierce the cabbage with the handle of a wooden spoon to release gas. You want to press all the way to the bottom of the jar with the wooden spoon handle.
Place the jar in the refrigerator after the fermentation process is done. The cabbage will continue to sour but at a very slow rate due to the low temperatures of the fridge.
Pro Tip: Ideal temperature range for sauerkraut is between 60F (16C) and 70F (21C), with the sweet spot at 65F (18C).
FAVORITE THINGS I ATE AND DRANK THIS WEEK:
Cappuccino from Fleet Coffee at their Webberville location.
A very cute set up! Perfect spot for reading a book or getting some writing or work done. Just keep in mind the fact that they only have outside sitting.
Bubble Milk Tea (Boba Tea) from Milk + Tea
I went to their location at The Crescent (they have a drive through as well). They have four locations throughout the city. I got the Classic Milk Tea with Boba at 100% sweetness. I would definitely recommend getting it less sweet. I am probably going to do 25% sweetness next time I go. The place was very busy, I would expect a little bit of a wait! I really enjoyed the experience. The boba is an extra .75 cents, so don’t forget to add it to your order if you get the Classic Milk Tea. I am by no means a boba tea expert so please keep that in mind.
Pan Dulce (pastries) from Comadre Panadería
I finally got to try Mariela’s baked goods and they were superb. My two favorite things on the menu were the Pink Cake (gluten-free) made with corn flour topped with a pink prickly pear buttercream and homemade sprinkles and the Bean and Cheese Empanada with a spicy homemade salsa. There are two options for getting your baked goods. You can place a preorder using their online system, the orders drop every Wednesday morning at 8am. The second option is to show up. The bakery is now open Friday through Monday (check here for hours) and you can buy directly from their walk up menu, in other words you don’t need to pre-order unless of course you want something off of the pre-order menu. *Quick note that the pre-order menu doesn’t always match the walk up menu. Please support Mariela and her team, it is incredibly difficult to operate a bakery in a city like Austin. Comadre Panadería is a very special place—Austin cannot afford to lose this bakery.
CHEESECAKE NEWS:
Cheesecake orders are now open through March 31st!
SUPPORT MY WORK BY BECOMING A PAID SUBSCRIBER:
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber! Your paid subscriptions goes towards recipe testing and development, video/photography, and cookbook writing. I am a big advocate of open access information and my priority is to keep the newsletter accessible to all. Those of you who can support my work monetarily are keeping the newsletter free for all!
If you prefer to make a one time donation, my venmo is @ogitheyogi.
Nice story, thanks for share us.
This was such an interesting and outstanding story and memory. It is also filled with such great information.