I’ve been blogging this week about preserving and pickling without the use of salt or vinegar, as these ingredients are not locally produced in Dawson City. I had hoped to use rhubarb juice as a substitute for vinegar for pickling, but despite its low pH value, there was a chance it might not prevent botulism-carrying bacteria … definitely not worth the risk.
So, after some research and consultation, it was on to plan B, lacto-fermentation without salt, which involved using celery juice or whey instead of a salt brine. I prepared batches of sauerkraut, kimchi, and dill pickles, fermenting one jar with celery juice and another jar with whey. No salt.
And it was a success! The fermentation with celery juice worked really well and is already starting to be flavourful.
The jars with whey were not good. They seemed to be developing mold quite quickly and therefore may not be safe to eat. They were discarded.
So — salt- free sauerkraut and kimchi with celery juice coming up!
An interesting tip, thanks to the local fermenter Kim Melton – to help keep the pickles and veggies crisp add a black current leaf to the bottom of the jar.
This is HORRIBLE advice. You cannot simply skim off mold and continue fermenting. Mold is only the fruiting body. The rest of the mold is all throughout your ferment. Any moldy ferment must be thrown away.
Thanks for comment Ricardo about the fermenting experiment with whey that quickly grew mold. We did indeed discard all of the whey ferment. I have edited the blog post, so as not to create any confusion or any suggestion that it was safe.
Did you test it for botulism?
Fascinating. Is the black currant leaf fresh or dried? My husband loves fermented foods but can no longer have the salt. I will definitely be trying this. Already looking for a recipe.
Thanks for sharing. Shirley Neeriemer.
Hi Shirley. I can’t actually remember if the black current leaf was fresh or dried. I see that I made this post in late October, so it may have been dried. But perhaps fresh would have been more effective. Another interesting discovery with black current leaves however, was using them to successfully ferment kombucha, since black tea was not on our list of local foods. Apparently it is the tannins, not the caffeine, in tea leaves that helps the kombucha ferment and it seems like black current leaves also must contain tannins because it worked! Would have probably used them dried when I tried to make the kombucha, but fresh might also work.