Fermenting

Pickling cabbage in salt is far older than German cooking — fermented cabbage is recorded in China as well as in ancient Rome. Anyone starting a batch of sauerkraut is doing something that has worked for thousands of years.

The human body is home to about as many bacterial cells as human cells — around 38 trillion microbes to 30 trillion human. Fermented foods are essentially inviting more species to your table.

Sauerkraut needs 1.5 to 2% salt by weight. Too little, and it molds; too much, and nothing happens. Weighing precisely pays off — the difference decides between sauerkraut and the trash can.

Sauerkraut needs exactly two ingredients. And because it stands for two weeks, the second meeting is built in.

“What fermented thing is sitting in your fridge that you no longer know when you made?”