Vegetable Ferment

Ingredients:

• 4 beetroot
• 3 carrots
• 1 pumpkin
• water
• kitchen salt
• glass container with lid
• old sock

Preparation:

• Slice beetroot and carrots;
• Cut pumpkin in pieces;
• Weigh the empty container, this is to later deduce the weight of its contents;
• Put the pieces into the container, make sure the larger pieces are firmly wedged under the shoulder of the glass to keep the smaller pieces from floating to the surface;
• Add water until all pieces are submerged. any piece breaking the surface of the water will be a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi;
• Weigh the full container again and subtract the weight of the empty container. In my ferment (see photo), I had 900 grams of contents;
• Add 1% to 2% by weight of salt. In my case, 1% of 900 grams is 9 grams, 2% is 18 grams. I added 15 grams of salt to the water;
• Optionally you can add a teaspoon of sourdough starter or whey water (from yogurt) to kick-start your ferment;
• Put the lid loosely on the container. Add an old sock over the top to secure the lid more tightly but not so tight the fermentation gasses stay trapped;
• The fermentation produces gasses (primarily carbon-dioxide) and may start to foam at the top. As a precaution against spills you can put the container on an appropriately sized plate.
• The ferment can be eaten any time. As you leave the ferment to do its thing for longer, the taste will turn gradually more sour.

Addendum. Unfortunately this ferment started developing white mold after a week or two. Within the white mold were small patches of green mold growing. Green or black mold are not good for humans and I had to throw the whole batch out. This also happens sometimes.