Good week to everyone from a sunny but very cold December morning. I was practically freezing while taking Dino for a walk this morning!

One of the things I’m happy about when winter comes is being able to ferment vegetables. I do it often. I always talk about it on my Instagram account, but I wanted to share it here too because it’s a method I get a lot of questions about. It only has 4 steps.

Since I learned about this fermentation method, I haven’t needed pickles anymore. In this jar, I fermented cucumbers, carrots, and red cabbage. You can use any vegetables you like.

Ingredients:

Vegetables to be fermented
Kefir whey (or homemade yogurt whey if you don’t have kefir)
Drinking water and iodine-free rock or sea salt
Juniper berries, yellow mustard seeds (available at herbalist shops)
2 cloves of garlic and your desired flavorings (parsley, dill, cumin, black pepper, ginger, etc.)

Step 1: Wash the vegetables well, removing any rotten parts, and pack them tightly into the jar.

Step 2: We prepare the brine. For the brine, add 1 Turkish coffee cup of kefir whey or homemade yogurt whey to 1 liter of water. You can read about making kefir whey in my kefir cheese recipe. Add 1 tablespoon of rock salt to the same water, mix, and set aside.

Step 3: Add 2 juniper berries and 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds to the jar. (These are essential to prevent spoilage.)

Step 4: Next, add the flavorings.

2 cloves of garlic, ginger, cumin seeds… this is optional, I add them for flavor. Cumin seeds are especially good.

Finally, cover the vegetables with a thick leaf (I used a purple cabbage leaf) and add the brine. Place a weight on top and stretch wrap. This weight can be a stone or a small glass jar. It will sit in a dark cupboard for 5 days, and the vegetables will ferment 😊 Then transfer to the refrigerator. I finish it all in 2 days 😍 It’s that delicious.

NOTE: I learned this method from my dear İpek Kuşçu. I would like to thank her very much here as well.