40 replies to this topic

[helenjp]

Fruyit peels - I've only ever heard of adding this to bran for making takun, actually. They might add a small amount of pectin, which with calcium might keep pickles crisper, but it sounds a bit optimistic.

Mustard - I do add this, but only a little. You can always add more later. If you are using chilis you might not need it anyway.

Beer etc. Not needed.

Kombu - I　second what John said, if you want to add that kind of stuff, save it for winter when spoilage is not an issue. Same goes for shiitake.

Basically a mature and nicely pampered nuka bed will have plenty of flavor of its own. Most of the other stuff is window dressing.

What you do need is spare dry bran, as some will disappear when you remove pickled vegetables, and the bed will get wet from vegetable juices anyway, so every 10-20 days you will need to top it up a bit.

[Kerry Beal]

Found rice bran today at a local bulk food place - called 'stabilized' rice bran. It is apparently treated (I'm assuming with heat) to kill the lipase enzymes.

This raises the question - is the stabilized bran suitable for pickles or is this process actually removing a vital enzyme necessary for the fermentation process?

[helenjp]

It should work...it might perhps be less flavorful, but worth a try.

[_john]

How is the pickle project going?

Around the time this thread was started I finally got around to redoing my pickle beds. I used to use a large tupperware and pickle different kinds of vegetables together. I re-did the pickle beds for this summer this time making 5 individual smaller tupperware containers. When you make pickles every day this really helps. When you are not pickling a particular vegetable you can put the pickling bed to sleep in the refrigerator. Seperating them also helps the pickles from picking up strange colors and tastes from adjacent vegetables. Right now we are pickling mizu-nasu (a special type of eggplant), cucumbers, Chinese cabbage and mizuna (a type of green). The fifth container is reserved for strong smelling things such as garlic, onion, etc.

I find that letting the pickle bed have some time in the refrigerator every week actually makes it taste better. I assume the cold prevents it for fermenting too vigorously. It also seems to slow the movement of salt into the vegetables. After about three weeks of tending them they are starting to produce really good pickles. Just in time for one of summer's greatest pleasures: A nukazuke cucumber and a cold beer!

[helenjp]

We've also got a 3-week old nuka bed on the go, and it's just starting to come along nicely. So far eggplant, cucumber, and carrot. I'm thinking of putting some young ginger in mine...

[Chris Amirault]

Finally had the ability to get this going tonight with ~1 kg rice bran. Followed _john's ratios above using 3 chiles and 3 medium leaves of cabbage torn into chunks. A question: do I need to cover this tightly with, say, plastic wrap, or is loosely with aluminum foil ok?

[_john]

It should be covered in such a way as to prevent too much evaporation and to prevent bugs etc getting in. It should never be sealed in a jar because it is alive. I keep mine in large rectangular tupperware containers with one of the corners cracked open. You want to avoid water droplets forming at all costs. Water droplets form from evaporated pure water, this is the perfect place for unwanted microbes to get a start and get into your pickling medium. Keep the sides of the container clean as well. I wipe mine down with ethanol but I wouldn't consider that necessary for home use.

you know when you are getting some good fermentation because there will be gasses trapped in the pickle bed. It will almost feel fluffy when you go in for your daily mix.

What is the average temperature of where you are storing it?

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks for all that -- I appreciate the information!

I'm in northeastern US, where the indoor temperatures are now in the 60-80F range, I'd say.

[_john]

Zucchini seems to be much more common this year in Japan. I tried pickling some young zucchini and they came out really well. I cut them in half lengthwise and pickled them for about 5 hours. I then let them sit for another 5 hours or so before serving. Pickling vegetables for a given time and then letting them "rest" allows the salt level inside the vegetable to balance out giving you much more consistent and delicious pickles.

One thing that is not mentioned often in books is that you should leave the nuka clinging to the vegetables you have removed from the pickling bed until just before serving. If you wash off the excess nuka and store the pickles in the refrigerator they quickly develop what I call "white slime" bacteria.

[Chris Amirault]

How much nuka to leave on?

Update: my bed is coming along nicely, and the small cucumbers turned out great. They definitely improve with a quick spell in the fridge. My 6 year old and I are loving them; my wife, not so much.

I'm wondering if the way to go is (1) remove from nuka and wash off; (2) vacuum seal; (3) ice bath; (4) serve.

[helenjp]

How much nuka to leave - pull out of pickle bed, shake over the sink. That much.

Once you've rinsed a pickle, you should eat it ASAP. You can buy "ready to serve" nuka pickles in this condition, but you can't buy them pre-rinsed,and I've never seen leftover (rinsed, cut) nuka pickles come back out of the fridge looking like anything I want to meet on my plate.

Zucchini - snap. But still pricey, just more available. Sigh.