---
title: "My Year of Fermentation: Kimchi, Kraut, and Lacto-Pickles"
created: 2026-01-08 10:00
author: Amelia Fontaine
keywords: fermentation, kimchi, sauerkraut, lacto-fermentation, pickles
description: Lacto-fermentation science, basic kimchi recipe, simple sauerkraut, quick lacto-pickles, equipment needed, and safety notes.
---

# My Year of Fermentation: Kimchi, Kraut, and Lacto-Pickles

Fermentation feels like the opposite of modern cooking: it is slow, unpredictable, invisible, and yields results that are difficult to specify in advance. You cannot ferment something in thirty minutes. You cannot reliably repeat results across batches. What you can do, with basic understanding and some patience, is create a range of preserved, probiotic-rich, complex-flavoured foods from very simple ingredients.

I spent much of last year making things in jars. This is what I learned.

## The Science of Lacto-Fermentation

Lacto-fermentation is not about dairy. It refers to *Lactobacillus* bacteria, which are present naturally on the surface of most vegetables. When vegetables are salted and submerged in brine, these bacteria produce lactic acid as they metabolise the sugars in the vegetables. The lactic acid lowers the pH, creating an environment inhospitable to pathogens but hospitable to more Lactobacillus bacteria.

This is why lacto-fermentation is safe without refrigeration or sterilisation: the lactic acid is the preservative. The pH drops quickly enough in the first 24–48 hours to prevent pathogenic bacteria from establishing themselves. As long as the vegetables remain submerged below the brine — where anaerobic conditions prevail — the process is reliable and safe.

Salt concentration matters: 2–2.5% salt by weight of the vegetables (plus added water if making a brine) is the standard range for most lacto-fermented vegetables. Too little salt and unwanted bacteria can establish themselves before the pH drops; too much and the Lactobacillus bacteria are inhibited.

## Equipment

You need:
- **Glass jars** (wide-mouth mason jars or Kilner jars) — 1 litre or larger
- **A clean weight** to keep vegetables submerged — a small jar filled with water, a zip-lock bag filled with water and brine, or commercial fermentation weights
- **A kitchen scale** — weight measurements are essential for correct salt concentration
- **Patience** — most ferments take 3–7 days at room temperature before they are ready

You do not need: special airlocks (useful but optional), canning equipment, expensive fermentation crocks (though they are excellent), or a vacuum sealer.

## Sauerkraut

The simplest lacto-ferment. One ingredient, plus salt.

- 1kg white or green cabbage, finely shredded (about 2mm)
- 20g fine sea salt (2% by weight)

Combine in a large bowl and massage vigorously for 5–10 minutes until the cabbage has released significant liquid — it will reduce in volume by half and the brine should be sufficient to submerge the cabbage when pressed.

Pack tightly into a 1-litre jar, pressing down hard after each handful. The brine should rise to cover the cabbage. Place your weight on top to keep the cabbage submerged. Cover with a cloth and secure with a rubber band.

Leave at room temperature (18–22°C is ideal) for 5–7 days. "Burp" the jar daily by pressing the cabbage down if it has floated. Taste after day 3 — it should be slightly sour. Continue until it reaches your preferred sourness, then seal and refrigerate.

Sauerkraut keeps refrigerated for months.

## Simple Kimchi

Kimchi is more complex than sauerkraut but follows the same principles.

**For the cabbage:**
- 1 medium napa (Chinese) cabbage (about 1kg)
- 60g coarse salt

Quarter the cabbage lengthwise. Dissolve the salt in enough water to submerge the cabbage. Soak for 1–2 hours until pliable. Rinse thoroughly and squeeze as dry as possible.

**The paste (yangnyeom):**
- 4 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes — not chilli flakes)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegan version)
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces

Mix the paste ingredients. Cut the cabbage quarters crosswise into 5cm pieces. Combine with the paste and spring onions, wearing gloves (the gochugaru stains). Mix thoroughly until all the cabbage is coated.

Pack into jars. There should be little to no brine visible initially — it will develop within 24 hours. Leave at room temperature for 24–48 hours, then refrigerate. The kimchi is ready to eat but improves over two to four weeks as it continues to ferment slowly in the fridge.

## Quick Lacto-Pickles

These use a salt brine rather than the vegetable's own liquid, which makes them work for firmer vegetables and more varied ingredients.

**Brine**: Dissolve 20g salt in 1 litre of water (2% brine).

**Suitable vegetables**: Cucumber (cut into spears or coins), carrot, radish, green beans, cauliflower florets, garlic.

**Additions**: Fresh dill, bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic, chilli.

Pack the vegetables and aromatics tightly into a jar. Pour brine over to cover. Weight and cover as with sauerkraut. At room temperature for 3–5 days, then refrigerate. These are lighter and more delicate in flavour than sauerkraut — a bridge between vinegar pickles and full fermentation.

## Safety

Lacto-fermentation has an excellent safety record when done correctly. The key rules:
- Keep vegetables fully submerged throughout fermentation
- Use the correct salt concentration
- Ferment at room temperature, not in the warmth of the oven or near a heat source
- If you see pink or black mould (not the white kahm yeast, which is harmless), discard and start again

The strong smell of fermentation can be alarming — sauerkraut at day two smells aggressively sour. This is normal. Trust the science.

Fermentation changed how I think about food preservation: not as the avoidance of microbial activity, but as the selective cultivation of it. The bacteria doing the work are on the vegetables already; you are just creating conditions in which they thrive and others don't. There is something deeply satisfying about that collaboration.
