I'm about to make a new batch of sauerkraut, and I'm thinking of adding some carrots to it.

I understand that the starch in cabbage is dealt with by the bacteria, but not sure if it would be the same with the carrots.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I just want to make sure, takes a lot of time to ferment to end up with a starchy sauerkraut.

Haven't a clue, hate sauerkraut - but understand where y're coming from. Could you make two batches, one whatever, and the other with the carrot? Just a thought.

I've played around with making my own batches of sauerkraut. I never used carrots because they were off-limits. Pretty much all root vegetables were too starchy for me. The only exception to me is garlic and ginger.

One batch that I absolutely loved was kim chi. I used napa cabbage, slivers of ginger, and crushed garlic. It was AWESOME. I smelled like hell afterwards because of the garlic, but it was really yummy.

I love homemade sauerkraut!

I have been fermenting swiss chard. I *really* dislike raw chard, but keep it in my diet, because there are so few colored vegetables that are safe for me. I think there is something to the different colors having different nutrients. If I pickle the chard (with sea salt and a little whey from my homemade goats yogurt) I really like the taste. It helps enormously with my digestion as well.

I can not handle cabbage in any form (my pain dropped by two levels when I took it out), but when I had it in my diet, I noticed that some batches of sauerkraut were starchy. I am under the impression that this starch is the same as any other starch and should be avoided.... just make sure your cabbage is starch free to begin with and you will be fine.

Perhaps you have a food intolerance to cabbage. I tried to make myself eat raw cabbage in my salads earlier on, but discovered I really hate it even without mayonaise (which was my traditional reason for avoiding coleslaw, yuck). Later cabbage showed up with a medium reaction on my food intolerance test.

wait, can sauerkraut be starchy?? I thought the bacteria ate the starch...

I have found cabbage cores to be starchy. So yes, some sauerkraut can be starchy. I've had mixed reactions to various sauerkrauts. The home made one I made was the best because I didn't include the cores...

Good luck!

Stacey, when you pickle the chard, do you include the stems?

For the fermented carrots, do I have to use whey? I'm no longer eating greek yogurt, only milk and coconut kefir so I would have to make some greek yogurt to get the whey..

Could I use some probiotic pearls instead of whey? Can I just add salt like with the sauerkraut?

Freddy,

I usually do two batches- one with the stems and one with the leaves. This is because the leaves ferment much faster. I like it when the stems get soft. They taste a lot like traditional cucumber pickles, but it takes about twice as long. I should also mention that I have not found a good way to weigh down the leaves (which I mash up pretty well with salt before putting them in the jar), so I usually have to dispose of the top inch or so, which has come out of the salt water and begins to mold. If I pack the stems tight enough, they hold each other down.

Chicharito,
I understand that you can ferment pretty much anything with just salt water. The reason that I use the whey is that it cuts down on the amount of salt that you have to use. I feel like I already get too much salt in my diet, between the (sugar free) smoked fish, canned fish, umboshi paste and general seasoning.

Good luck.