- 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…
Recipes
Eight canonical lacto-ferments
Sauerkraut to short miso. Each recipe gives the salt percentage, ferment days at room temperature, vessel, and the technique that actually works — sourced from NCHFP, Sandor Katz, the Noma Guide, and Joy of Pickling.
The kit these recipes assume
A short, honest kit for lacto-fermentation. The scale is the one that matters most — everything here is by weight.
- Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)Salt % is by weight, not volume — a 0.1 g scale is what makes the math above accurate.View on Amazon →
- Glass fermentation weightsKeep vegetables submerged under the brine line so they ferment safely without mould.View on Amazon →
- Airlock fermentation lidsLet CO₂ escape while keeping oxygen out — wide-mouth lids that fit standard jars.View on Amazon →
- Wide-mouth mason jarsThe workhorse vessel for kraut, kimchi and brine pickles — 1 qt and ½ gal sizes.View on Amazon →
- Pickling / fine sea saltPure salt with no iodine or anti-caking agents, which can cloud brine and inhibit fermentation.View on Amazon →
- Stoneware fermentation crockFor scaling past the jar — a water-sealed crock for 5 L+ batches with built-in weights.View on Amazon →
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