Learning Objective
You will learn how to make a naturally fermented kohlrabi pickle.
With this recipe you can learn how to naturally ferment a vegetable such as kohlrabi to make naturally fermented kohlrabi pickle that is packed full of nutrients and good bacteria.
Kohlrabi is now little known in the UK however it grows very well in our climate and did in fact use to be widely grown here. One of our students Catherine Manson, who helped make this naturally fermented kohlrabi pickle during her course here, remembers growing it in abundance in Scotland when she was young: “I was always so excited about the kohlrabi that we grew on our self-sufficient Aberdeenshire croft when I was a child. It has a lovely dense sweetness as well as a crisp crunchy turnipy aspect. It is a lovely surprise ingredient in a stew, roasted or just steamed and sprinkled with lemon zest!”
Fortunately kohlrabi are now available in the UK and ours were very kindly provided by Riverford Organic Farmers.
“Health mantras like “eat the rainbow” are fun, but can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Why? Because words are powerful and they can instantly conjure up images of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables being the healthiest, making us think that pale, white or tan plant foods aren’t of much value. This couldn’t be farthest from the truth. Kohlrabi is a rich source of sinigrin and glucoraphanin, two members of the glucosinolate family experience extensive metabolism by the gut microbiome, creating compounds that the eye never gets to appreciate. So gut bugs aren’t fooled by appearances. They know how to spot a good source of nutrients, despite the apparent lack of colour, turning glucosinolates in kohlrabi into powerful antibacterial and antifungal agents. Pickling mimics this process so the transformation starts even before the kohlrabi reaches your gut. The wonders of traditional food processing, and how they can be explained by cutting edge science, never cease to amaze me.” Miguel Toribio-Mateas
Kohlrabi Pickle – naturally fermented
Ingredients:
3 kohlrabi – green kohlrabi and/or purple kohlrabi
Sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon caraway seeds (for one version) and/or
1 heaped teaspoon dried chipotle (for another version)
Equipment:
sharp knife
chopping board
2 medium mixing bowls or 1 large
2/3 large jars with lids (sterilised), ideally jars with shoulders
glass weights (optional)
tray
Method:
Trim the kohlrabi, keeping the outer leaves to one side, then thinly slice. If you would like to make the two different versions of this pickle, at this point divide the kohlrabi into two different bowls and add the caraway seeds to one, and the chipotle to the other. If you are making just one version add all the kohlrabi to a large mixing bowl, and add either the caraway or the chipotle. Slowly add salt and mix into the kohlrabi with your hands. Add enough salt until it tastes just slightly too salty to enjoy. Work the salt into the kohlrabi for 2-3 minutes. The salt will draw out the water from the kohlrabi. Leave on the side for 20-30 minutes maximum.
Transfer the kohlrabi and all the liquid into clean glass jars. Firmly push down the kohlrabi into the jars. Make sure the liquid covers the contents – the level of the liquid must be well above the kohlrabi. If your vegetables haven’t given off enough liquid add a squeeze of lemon juice to increase the volume.
If you use glass weights pop these on now. If you don’t have weights use an outer leaf from each kohlrabi to cover the vegetables, and tuck it down well under the shoulders of the jars. Loosely place the lids on each jar (without seals). Place all the jars on a tray and leave on the side in your kitchen for 2-3 days. If you like your pickles fresh and crunchy two days should do, but check and try so you are happy with the crunch/softness. Place in the fridge.
Eat and enjoy and keep stored in the fridge.
All fermented foods such as this, as well as kefir, kombucha, sourdough starter, live yogurt and live vinegar all contain good bacteria known as probiotics. The more probiotics we consume in our daily diets the greater chance we have of increasing the levels of good bacteria in our gut microbiome.
This recipe was developed by Vanessa and our students alongside our Diversity Loaf – using Blend No. 13 and our Kohlrabi & Lentil Soup
Learning Outcome
You will know how to make a kohlrabi pickle and why eating this might benefit your gut microbiome.