Lacto-fermentation recipes — 8 canonical styles, cited

Sauerkraut
dry salt · 2.00% salt · 14.0d primary · 65-72°F (18-22°C) · Germany / Central Europe
The canonical lacto-fermented vegetable. Finely shredded green cabbage, salted at 2% by weight, massaged until it releases its own brine, then packed below the liquid line and fermented 2-4 weeks at room temperature. No …
Baechu Kimchi (Tongbaechu)
dry salt · 4.00% salt · 5.0d primary + 30.0d secondary · 65-70°F (18-21°C) → fridge after 3-7 days · Korea
Napa cabbage salted whole (or quartered), rinsed to desalt, then coated in a paste of gochugaru, garlic, ginger, fish sauce (or vegan alternatives), Korean radish julienne, scallions, and often daikon. Primary ferment at…
Half-Sour Pickle
brine · 3.50% brine · 5.0d primary · 65-72°F (18-22°C) · New York Jewish / Eastern European
The classic NYC deli half-sour. Cucumbers in 3.5% salt brine with dill, garlic, spices. 3-5 days only — still crunchy, bright green, mildly tangy. Never ripens to full-sour because you refrigerate at 5 days. Not shelf-st…
Full-Sour Pickle
brine · 5.00% brine · 14.0d primary + 30.0d secondary · 60-68°F (15-20°C) · Eastern European / Polish
The traditional ogórki kiszone. 14-21 days at cool temps produces fully sour pickles with yellow-olive color, translucent interior, intense tang. Shelf-stable for months due to high acidity + salt + cool storage. Never r…
Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce
dry salt or brine · 2.50% salt · 7.0d primary + 30.0d secondary · 68-75°F (20-24°C) · Louisiana / Mexico / global
Any combination of hot peppers + complementary aromatics (garlic, onion, salt) fermented to tang, then blended smooth with vinegar to adjust final pH. Tabasco, Crystal, and many craft hot sauces use this base method. Fin…
Fermented Honey Garlic
honey based · 42.0d primary · room temp (65-75°F) · global traditional medicine
Whole peeled garlic cloves submerged in RAW (unpasteurized) honey, fermented 4-6 weeks. Honey draws water out of the garlic, diluting it below the antimicrobial threshold (~18% water). Lactobacillus from the garlic then …
Short Miso (60-day Shiro)
koji based · 6.00% salt · 60.0d primary + 120.0d secondary · 65-75°F (18-24°C) · Japan
Short-aged 'white' miso (shiro): cooked soybeans + koji rice + salt, fermented 2-6 months. Mild, sweet-umami, light yellow color. Longer-aged variants (aka, hatcho) go 1-3 years. Distinct from other ferments: requires ko…
Kombucha (1-gallon batch)
scoby · 10.0d primary + 3.0d secondary · 72-80°F (22-27°C) · China / Russia
Sweetened tea fermented by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) into a tangy, lightly fizzy beverage. Different from lacto-ferments — kombucha uses acetic acid bacteria + yeast, not Lactobacillus. Included h…