Fermenting is an easy way to preserve food with added health benefits, and these examples – from kraut to kimchi and kombucha – make a delicious accompaniment to any meal

Six of the best pickles and ferments

Six of the best pickles and ferments

Celeriac, apple and mustard seed kraut

One of our favourite ferments at Little Duck: the combination of ingredients make it a brilliantly unusual alternative to typical cabbage kraut – but it’s just as simple.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Celariac, apple and mustard seed kraut. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 15 min

Ferment Up to 2 weeks

Makes About 500g

1 celeriac, sliced on a mandolin

1 apple, sliced on a mandolin

1 tbsp black mustard seeds

1 tbsp salt

Toss the celeriac and apple with the mustard seeds and salt, massaging through to help release the water.

Decant into a sterilised jar, pushing down as tightly as possible to submerge the celeriac and apple in their brine. Seal. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Check after two days: if it hasn’t produced enough liquid, top it up with lightly salted mineral or filtered water until the vegetables are completely submerged. Your ferment should be ready in another couple of weeks. Don’t worry if a white mould starts to appear on the top: this is normal. Use a spoon to skim it off. Anything under the brine will be truly delicious – and healthy.

Indian spiced carrot kraut

Carrots have a high water content and, when grated, they ferment relatively quickly. We serve this at breakfast alongside eggs with garlic yoghurt and flatbreads.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Indian spiced carrot kraut. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 10 min

Ferment 7-10 days

Makes About 500g

1kg carrots, peeled and grated

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black onion seeds

1 pinch red chilli flakes

In a bowl, rub the salt into the carrots until they start to release some liquid. This will take about five minutes.

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Add the spices and mix well. Press all the ingredients into a sterilised jar and push down until the juices rise over the top of the carrots. (If the juice does not rise over the top, mix in a little filtered water and press down again). You can weigh down with a weight, so long as it’s not metal.

Close the lid and leave to ferment for 7-10 days at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. After five days you will see it start to form small bubbles.

Make sure the ingredients remain below the liquid. Keep fermenting and taste it daily until the tangy citrus flavour gets to where you want it, then refrigerate to stop the fermentation process.

Lime pickle

This will give every other lime pickle a run for its money, the only downside being the wait. The trick is always to have a new batch on the go so you’re never without. It’s obviously great alongside curries, but also on cheese plates. At Rawduck we even serve it alongside cheddar on crumpets.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Curry flavour: homemade lime pickle. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 15 mins

Ferment 5 weeks

Makes About 300g

250g limes (2-3 medium-size ones), each cut into 8 wedges

10g salt (about 1 tbsp)

5g sugar (about 1 tsp)

37ml mustard oil (about 4 tbsp)

1 tbsp turmeric

3 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Mix the lime wedges with the salt and sugar. Pack into a sterilised jar and leave to ferment for four weeks.

When four weeks have elapsed, heat the oil in a pan, add the spices and fry until the seeds start to pop. Add the limes with all their juice, along with the cider vinegar, and cook for five minutes.

Leave to cool, then pack back into the jar and store for another week, so the flavours can combine.

Chrain

This Jewish-Russian condiment of fermented beetroot and horseradish is ideal alongside smoked fish or in place of horseradish – with cold roast beef, for example.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Purple chrain: a ferment of beetroot and horseradish that would be a good pickle for cold beef. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 10 min

Ferment 5 days

Makes About 350g

2 medium beetroot, peeled and finely grated

4-inch piece of fresh horseradish, peeled and finely grated

Salt

Weigh the beetroot and horseradish, then measure out 2% of their weight in salt. Mix all three ingredients together in a bowl.

Put them into a 500g sterilised jar and push the vegetables down so their juices rise over the top. Close the lid and leave to ferment in a warm place, away from direct sunlight.

After five days, the chrain will have taken on a sour fermented flavour, at which point it’s ready to eat. When it gets to your desired taste, refrigerate – this will stop it fermenting – and eat it as an accompaniment to meat and fish dishes.

Kimchi

Kohlrabi is often the main ingredient in our kimchi – it has a high water content and stays really fresh, which can make a nice change from the more potent version with cabbage. The fermentation time is relatively short, giving it a gentle and clean flavour, with a delicate umami backdrop from the fish and soy sauces.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 15 min

Ferment 1 week minimum

Makes 500g

500g kohlrabi or daikon, finely sliced on a mandoline

1 tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

2 large garlic cloves, finely sliced

25g ginger, finely sliced

60ml light soy sauce

60ml fish sauce

1 tbsp Korean red pepper flakes

Mix the mandolined vegetable of choice with the salt and sugar. Rub together so the vegetable starts to release some of its water, then sit the mixture in a colander overnight to release some more.

The next day, wash the vegetable briefly in cold water and drain.

Mix the garlic and ginger with the remaining ingredients before rubbing the mixture into the drained vegetables.

Pack into sterilised jars, leaving 1cm clear at the top, and ferment for a least a week before using.

Kombucha

Kombucha is fermented tea that can be infused with other flavours such as rhubarb or hibiscus. Serve over ice.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kombucha: tea ferment with health benefits. Photograph: Jonathan West/The Guardian

Prep 15 min

Ferment 7-10 days

Makes About 3 litres

235g golden caster sugar (preferably unrefined)

3.5 litres boiling water

35g loose-leaf tea (black, green or oolong)

1 kombucha culture (aka scoby, available from various online suppliers such as Happy Kombucha)

In a large pan, dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, then add the tea and leave to cool.

Strain the tea out and decant the liquid into any sterilised large glass jar that you can cover tightly with muslin. Making sure you have very clean hands, add the scoby, avoiding metal utensils. Leave to ferment for seven to 10 days, during which time the bacteria will eat all the sugar.

Next, taste the tea for the desired ratio of tart to sweet – you should be looking for a slight vinegary taste. Follow the packet instructions on how to care for your scoby carefully – if you see any sign of black mould or the kombucha smells eggy, immediately discard it, as it means your bacteria have taken a turn for the worse.

Once you’re happy with the fermented tea, decant it into sterilised bottles, ideally with a capped top. At this point you can infuse the kombucha with a few hibiscus leaves, rhubarb, citrus, or whatever you like – but do not leave in for more than a few days or they will go mouldy.

Kombucha is aliveand changing all the time as it ferments. It will produce gases and these need to be let out (“burped”) every couple of days or you could end up with exploding bottles. Don’t store in direct sunlight, don’t put them in a cold corner either, because they will die.