Fermenting vegetables - advice please

[kelper]

I have successfully fermented some white cabbage. Despite massaging for twenty minutes, waiting one hour, massaging another twenty minutes there was never enough liquid to really cover the cabbage. It was OK when I pressed the ceramic weights down by hand but the cabbage would relax and reabsorb the brine.

My question is, is it OK to add half a cupful of water? I have the book by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey and she says this is a no-no.

Today I've started to ferment red cabbage and I did add some water; I also used two teaspoons of sea salt for a small cabbage.

Next one will be carrot and then a hot sauce concoction.

 

[YeastFace]

Sorry, have not advice to offer but thought I would add a post on here rather than start a new thread.

Second go at kimchi, first time was a quick one with some crappy garlic-chilli sauce so nothing like the real deal.

Had some leftover Chinese Leaf and ised this recipe as a guide. Used gochujang from local Asian supermarket instead of making my own.

 

[druid1966]

I went to a fermenting page and I think you need to add a bit of 3.5 % brine if I read correctly. Just adding water will dilute your brine and could encourage mold/nasties etc. If you do facebook, there is a group dedicated to fermented veggies.