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Pretty in pink slaw will keep your health in the pink!

The other day, I made a Mark Bittman recipe for No-Mayo Coleslaw because all I had was red cabbage, and I didn’t think mayo and red cabbage went well together. After tasting this delicious recipe, I was reminded that I was running low on my regular lactofermented sauerkraut, and it is one of those healthy, nutrient dense food recipes that I like to keep on hand at all times.

Fermented vegetables are filled with lacto-bacteria like acidopholus and bifidus which are termed probiotics, or for life from the greek root words. These tiny bacteria help the gut to function well. They provide enzymes to the body and also help digest food molecules that the body is not capable of processing itself. Humans cannot digest cellulose, as they are not strictly herbivorous animals, so the lactobacteria helps to break down the cell walls and release the nutrients inside. These bacteria also provide lactic acid which helps to prevent fungal and mold growth in the body and other more potent viruses by providing a more acid bowel environment. Most pathogens in the food world and in the bowel need a more alkaline environment to grow. This might seem at odds with the latest thoughts on eating alkaline to create alkaline blood, but the blood stream and the bowel are two different things, and both need optimal and specific environments to maintain health.

Some folks eat fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir on a regular basis, but if you have chosen to restrict dairy from your diet for whatever reason, you should be eating lactofermented vegetables like real pickles, sauerkraut or Korean Kim Chi in order to obtain these good bacteria. Kombucha also provides a level of lactobacteria and other healthful living organisms to keep the gut and filtering systems of the liver and kidneys in good health. If as I said previously, you are abstaining from dairy, you will need to eliminate the whey liquid from this recipe and add in another tablespoon of sea salt and leave the recipe in a bowel overnight to attract wild yeasts for fermentation. The vegetables themselves have plenty of lactobacteria present on their surfaces to begin this process of predigestion which creates the classic taste and smell of fermented vegetables.

Pretty in Pink Slaw

Makes 2 Quarts

1 Small to medium head red cabbage, washed and finely shredded

3 Large carrots finely grated

1 Medium red or sweet onion finely sliced into strips

2 Medium white turnips finely grated

1 Tsp. celery seed

1-1/2 Tbs. sea salt

1 Tsp.  caraway

1 Tsp. red pepper flakes or cayenne powder (optional)

1 Tbs. whole juniper berries

Filtered water as needed

4 Tbs. liquid whey from clabbered raw milk or drained from yogurt. See my recipe for mixed up sauerkraut for directions on how to harvest whey from yogurt.

In a large bowel, shred all vegetables, sprinkle on sea salt and all spices but juniper berries. With a large pestle, vegetable masher or meat hammer, pound the vegetables and turn them over to bruise them and release the vegetables juices. It should take about 10 minutes to bruise them properly, and the edges of the finely shredded vegetables will start to turn clear. At this point, sprinkle the juniper berries over the vegetables and mix well to distribute.

Using a canning funnel, fill two sterilized quart canning jars or any good quality glass quart jars with tightly fitting lids with the vegetable mixture. Every 3 inches or so of fill, stop and using a wooden spoon or the pestle, press the vegetables down very firmly to pack them tightly into the jar and push them below the liquid line.

When the jars are filled to 1 inch below the rim, press them down again firmly and pour in the 2 Tbs. whey into each jar. If the top vegetables are not submerged under the liquid, add in a small amount of water to 1/2 inch below the rim. Whip the threads of the jars clean and place the lid on firmly. Rinse the outside of the jars and place them on the counter for 2-3 days. Check the jars daily by cracking the lids and listening for the tell tale hiss of escaping gas. In the winter, you want to make sure the jars stay relatively warm, so placing them on top of the refrigerator or by your coffee maker will help. Taste the mixture after 3 days. It should taste slightly tangy and almost carbonated to the tongue. If it does not, add in 1 more Tbs. of whey per jar, dumping off some liquid if necessary, and leave on the counter for another day. Refrigerate the jars after that. The slaw will get better and more full bodied with age, and the sealed jars will last for months in cold storage.

If you haven’t made fermented vegetables before, it might seem like a daunting task, but from start to finish the process takes about 20 minutes and will save you tons of money. A jar of Bubbies sauerkraut, which is plain white cabbage runs close to $6 in the health food store, and you can make twice the volume of tasty slaw for less than half the price. I use my salad shooter to shred the vegetables and I enjoy about 1/2 cup of these tangy beauties a day on my salad or in a sandwich. I think you will like this zesty mixture which isn’t as spicey as Kim Chi but still packs a delightful punch!

This recipe was a part of Food Palette: Red,  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Night Supper Club , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Dr. Laura’s Tasty Tuesdays, Meatless vegan monday and the Hearth and Soul Hop-volume 19.